


Original Finish Plastic

by haircutnamedarthur



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cuddling, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Instagram, Love Confessions, M/M, Model victor, More characters to be added, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff, Secret Plans, So is Victor, Yuuri is a nerd, model horse collector Yuuri, model horses, sleep over
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-16 16:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 61,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9279878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haircutnamedarthur/pseuds/haircutnamedarthur
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki is perplexed when an extremely attractive male model begins to like all of his photos on his model horse collection Instagram, of all things.  It has to be a bot just trying to generate likes and follows for the male model's page, right?  RIGHT?





	1. WHO's Liking my Photos?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty sure that this is not exactly an AU that many of you expected to exist, but I think it works! However, that being said, I hope that you enjoy it! I got this idea in my head and it just absolutely begged to be written. Please let me know what you think once you read it.  
> Enjoy~

“Phichit, please be careful with that one.  He's limited edition,” Yuuri fretted, gently removing the pretty grey plastic horse from his friend’s grasp.  Phichit had picked the model up a minute ago to get a better look at it.  Yuuri didn't really mind until Phichit pretended to gallop it across the desk, complete with neighing sound effects.  He winced when he imagined the paint on the hooves chipping.  
“Sorry Yuuri,” Phichit grinned.  He watched the way Yuuri lovingly inspected the model for damage before placing it safely on a shelf of similar horses.  Such shelves took up most of the available wall space in Yuuri’s bedroom.  Each one featured its own group of plastic horses in a rainbow of colors, prancing and frolicking in place.  “No harm done, right?”  
“No, he's fine,” Yuuri sighed in relief.  The horse had cost him more money than he'd care to admit, especially with international shipping, so he wasn't in a hurry to have it scratched up.  
“You can tell me about him, you know,” Phichit said, getting up from the desk chair and throwing himself down on Yuuri’s bed.  “I can tell you're absolutely dying to.”  
“Really?”  Yuuri’s eyes lit up.    
“Yes, really!  I don't mind,” Phichit said, taking a moment to snap a selfie.  “I think it's nice to see you all excited about them.”  
“O-oh,” Yuuri took a moment to collect his thoughts and take the horse back off the shelf to look at him.  Even though Phichit had never been anything but nice about his collection, Yuuri was still vaguely self conscious about it.  Plus he kind of felt like it was probably pretty annoying when he talked about his model horses, no matter how many times Phichit assured him it was fine.  “Well, he's on the ‘Big Ben’ mold which was sculpted by Kathleen Moody in 1996 and his official name is ‘Wish on a Star’ but I named mine ‘Foggy Morning.’”  
“That's a pretty name, Yuuri,” Phichit encouraged and Yuuri felt emboldened to continue.  Unless he was online with other collectors, he didn't get the chance to talk about his horses very often.  He couldn't help but feel excited to have a willing audience in Phichit, even though the other boy didn't know a thing about model horses himself.  
“Thank you!  I have his breed assigned as a Swedish Warmblood and he won his class in a photo show last month.  He's a special run from Breyerfest 2011 and only 1,100 of them were made!”  Yuuri spoke quickly as he rattled off facts about the grey and white spotted plastic horse.  
“Breyerfest,” Phichit said, thoughtful, “Isn't that the big collector thingie in Ohio in the United States you've always wanted to go to?”

“Kentucky,” Yuuri corrected, “But yeah!  Maybe someday I'll be able to go.  It would just be really, really expensive to get there.”

“Whoops, yeah that makes sense that it's Kentucky because that's where all the racehorses live.  Anyway, I'm sure you'll make it there someday, Yuuri.” Phichit turned and regarded his friend with mock seriousness, “Don’t let your dreams be dreams.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and Phichit snickered.

“Oooo, wait I have a question!” Phichit exclaimed.

“About the horse?” Yuuri asked, surprised.  He turned to face Phichit as he replaced Foggy Morning on the shelf once more.

“Kind of?  It’s related, anyway.  I was just wondering how many followers your model horse collection Instagram has now,” Phichit’s eyes gleamed and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh.  Phichit was a social media master so it only made sense that he wanted to know _that._ Yuuri sat down on his bed with Phichit, and the other boy immediately stretched out and lay his legs across Yuuri’s lap.

“Uh, let me check,” Unfazed by Phichit’s typical affection, Yuuri pulled his phone out of his pocket to open the app and go to his profile.  “As of right now, a little over 1,200.”

“No faaaaaaiiiir!  That’s more than one of my accounts has,” Phichit pretended to pout.

“Don’t be too jealous, Phichit.  My personal account only has 25 and 5 of those followers are all you on different accounts,” Yuuri said, checking in on his notifications since he saw he had gotten some likes and comments since he last checked.  

For the most part it was business as usual.  Most of the likes were on his most recent photo.  That one kid was back, asking if that one horse was for sale _again_.  This was in spite of Yuuri repeatedly explaining, no, he quite liked it so it wasn’t.  Even if was for sale, the shipping from Japan would cost more than the model was even worth.  He replied, then added: “ _Thank you for the interest though :) He’s a pretty common model so you should be able to find another one without much trouble!_ ”. Yuuri didn't want it to sound like he was being testy, especially since the other collector seemed pretty young.

Almost immediately, another comment pinged in from the same user: “ _Trade instead????_ ”

Sighing in exasperation, Yuuri decided to ignore it for now and wait to reply later and check out the rest of his likes.

“Huh.  That’s weird,” Yuuri pursed his lips.

“What’s weird?” Phichit scooted over so he could see the screen, too.

“That model guy is liking my horse photos again.  It must be a bot trying to generate likes on his page, right?  I just feel like it’s been going on for a while now,” Yuuri frowned a little as he scrolled through the guy’s profile.  It was filled with pictures of the model in question looking extremely attractive.  Every time the guy liked one of his photos, Yuuri couldn’t resist looking through his page because he was just so… good looking.  Some of the photos were clearly from photoshoots, but others were more candid selfies and even photos of his dog, a cute poodle.  Yuuri double tapped one of the poodle photos without really thinking about it.  Momentarily, he regretted it until he remembered that the model had over 25,000 followers.  It was totally unlikely he’d even see Yuuri’s like, let alone notice it.  Anyway, it was probably a bot liking Yuuri’s pictures anyway, not the actual guy.

“The one you mentioned the other day?  Can I see?” Yuuri passed the phone over to Phichit who scrolled through the model’s account with lightening speed.  “Woah, Yuuri!  He’s gorgeous!”

“Yeah,” Yuuri blushed a little bit.  It was true, the model had attractively angular facial features and piercing blue eyes.  His hair was a soft grey color, and Yuuri wondered if he dyed it like that or if that was the real color.  Natural hair color or not, it only added to the man’s good looks.  

“What was the first photo of yours he liked?” Phichit asked, clearly going into social media detective mode.

“That selfie I posted a few weeks ago for the ‘all model horse collectors are beautiful’ hashtag that went around,” Yuuri laughed nervously.  “I mean it’s kind of embarrassing that I posted it for that…”

“Oh hush.  I think that sounds like a sweet hashtag and you’re cute so shut up,” Phichit replied, scolding Yuuri affectionately.

“If you can’t find it, it’s the one where I’m holding Lion Heart- I mean the light brown model with the long mane that reminds you of a caramel macchiato,” Yuuri explained, realizing that Phichit would have no idea what model ‘Lion Heart’ was.

“Don’t worry, I found it.  You don’t put very many selfies on here.  Tsk, tsk, you should post more of them.  Look at all the nice comments you got!” Phichit started reading them outloud.  “Sunset_Stallion25 said ‘awww you have really pretty eyes!!’ and Mystic_Mountain_Model_Horses said ‘I don’t know which I like better, you or the horse!’ and a heart eyes emoji.  How saucy!!” Phichit exclaimed gleefully as Yuuri buried his face in a pillow.

“Phiiiiichit!!  Stop reading them outloud it’s embarrassing!!”  Yuuri wailed, voice muffled by the pillow.

“Oooo, and this person said ‘SLAYYYYYYYYY BOYYYYY!!’ Oh wait, that’s me.  I commented that,” Phichit giggled.

“Oh my god,” Yuuri groaned.

“Anyway, back to Mr. Mystery Model Man,” Phichit said, scrolling through the likes on the photo.  “Yep, there he is, v_nikiforov.  Hmmm, he didn’t like the photo before this one, so I guess he did start with the selfie.  Does he like all your photos?”

“Pretty much,” Yuuri replied after a moment of thought.

“But he doesn’t follow you?”

“Nope,” Yuuri said, “I don’t think so, anyway.”

“Let’s check.  Hmmmm, you’re right.  He doesn’t.  How odd, especially since he likes all your photos.  Maybe it isn’t a bot after all, and he’s checking your account all the time?  That would certainly be interesting,” Phichit mused, still fiddling around on Yuri’s account as he tried to solve the mystery.

“So are you saying that this v_nikiforov guy like, secretly loves model horses?”  Yuuri wondered, watching as Phichit scrolled through Instagram on Yuuri’s phone with the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth.

“Well, I followed him on your page so I could see what he was liking-” Phichit started.

“You _what?!_ ”

“Hush.  He likes all your photos, so what’s the big deal?  You can always unfollow him later if you want.  But then again, why would you want to?  He’s total eye candy.  Anyways, going through his likes, your plastic horses are the only plastic horses he appears to be liking.” Phichit smirked.  “That, and the first photo of yours he liked was that selfie…”

“Wait, Phichit, what are you saying?” Yuuri cocked an eyebrow at his friend, slightly concerned by the maniacal grin on Phichit’s face all of a sudden.

“What I’m saying is that I think we should DM this v_nikiforov guy.”

~*~

Viktor sat on his couch with Makkachin all cuddled up in his lap even though the poodle was really too large to be a suitable lap dog.  With one hand, he stroked her silky ears, and with the other, he scrolled idly through his Instagram account.  “What was that hashtag Aaliya said I should check out?” He said, even though he was alone in the apartment except for Makkachin.  At today's photo shoot, one of the female models he was working with had mentioned a hashtag that had some really cool modeling photo shoots in it.  “Oh, that’s right.  It was ‘model hijab,’ wasn’t it?”

Viktor tapped in the search bar “#modelh” and “#modelhijab” was the first result.  He clicked it, expecting to see photos of girls in hijabs, and was slightly taken aback when instead his screen was filled with… were those toy horses?

“What in the world?” Viktor muttered.  “Oh, I see.  ‘Model _horses_ ’ must have been the next top result, and I accidentally pressed that.”  

Intrigued, Viktor began to scroll through the tag.  There were pictures of toy horses posed realistically outside, some so well done they nearly looked real.  There were other pictures of shelves upon shelves of horses organized by color or position.  Some featured ridiculously detailed tiny barns filled with tiny accessories perfectly in scale with the tiny plastic horses themselves.  While it definitely wasn’t a hobby he had any interest in himself, Viktor couldn’t help but be kind of impressed.  Feeling like he had stumbled into a whole new world, Viktor figured he should stop admiring toy ponies and actually check out the right hashtag.  He was about to scroll up again when a photo, a selfie, more specifically, caught his eye.  
“Cute!” Viktor whispered excitedly, and Makkachin raised her head.  “Yes, you’re very cute Makkachin, but so is he.”  
Viktor clicked on the picture to make it bigger and take a closer look.  He had to admit that he had assumed most of the people posting in the tag were probably teenage girls.  However, here was a twenty-something looking Japanese guy bashfully posing with a caramel-colored model horse.  The guy was… absolutely adorable.  He had big brown eyes framed by cute, chunky glasses, and he was blushing a little as he smiled shyly for the camera. Viktor bit his lip.

His original reason for opening Instagram completely forgotten, Viktor read the photo’s description:

“ **yuuris_plastic_ponies:** Hi all!  Here’s something a little different for today.  A couple of you tagged me in the #allmodelhorsecollectorsarebeautiful challenge, so here’s my face!  Ah, I get kind of nervous posting selfies here, but I haven’t posted one in a while so I figured it was about time!!  I put my Lion Heart model in the picture to keep it model horse related lol, plus he’s so pretty and glossy *_* ”

“Cuuuuuuuteeeee!!” Viktor squealed, frightening Makkachin in the process and causing the poodle to leap from his lap.  Without really thinking about, Viktor double-tapped the photo to like it.  Eagerly, Viktor clicked on the username to see the guy’s profile and read his bio.

“ **Yuuri K.**

Just your average 23 year old guy in Japan who just happens to collect model horses.

Why is international shipping so expensive??!!”

“Cuutttteeeee,” Viktor said again, and scrolled through the account a little.  The guy, well, now he knew his name was Yuuri, hadn’t been lying when he said that he hadn’t posted a selfie for a while.  Even after scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of photos of toy horses, he still didn’t see any other pictures of Yuuri’s face.

Viktor was about to press the “follow” button, but stopped himself.

 _I do not collect toy horses_ , Viktor thought to himself, trying to be reasonable.   _So why would I follow a toy horse account just because the person who runs it happens to be absolutely adorable?  I mean, maybe if he posted more selfies…_

Viktor’s finger hovered over the “follow” button once more.  On a whim, he went to see what kind of accounts followed Yuuri.  On a cursory inspection, most of them seemed to be other toy horse people, or people who had real horses.  Viktor was neither a toy horse person nor a real horse person.   _He’d probably be a little weirded out if I just followed him,_ Viktor frowned, _since my page isn’t about horses…_

Sighing, Viktor closed out of the app, but not before he made a mental note of Yuuri’s username.  It couldn’t hurt to check back later for more selfies, right?

~*~

Over the next few weeks, Viktor gained more knowledge of toy horses than he ever expected to have.  Well, model horses seemed to be the correct term.  He mentally corrected himself whenever he found himself thinking of them as toys.  He found himself being able to identify different brands just from photographs.  Granted, sometimes he still had a little trouble figuring out the difference between a Breyer brand horse or a Stone brand horse.  He learned the names of the different sizes of the models, from Traditional scale to Micro Mini scale.  Viktor learned what words like “chalky,” “glossy,” and “decorator” meant in reference to model horses.  And that wasn’t even the half of it.

Viktor hadn’t taken an independent interest in model horses and done his own research.  No, he picked up all of this knowledge, which was pretty much useless to him, from his near daily checks of Yuuri’s account.  No more selfies had appeared, but Viktor still looked at the photos and read the descriptions hoping to learn more tidbits about him.  While most of his descriptions focused on the horse in the photo, sometimes he would throw in little things about his life.    
Last week he had posted a picture of a cool silver speckled model, which Viktor could now correctly identify as a “silver filigree decorator.” In the caption, Yuuri talked about going to a movie with his best friend.  He had tagged the friend’s account and Viktor recognized the username, phichit+chu.  They commented on most of Yuuri’s photos but didn’t seem to know much if anything about the model horses themselves.  Mostly the comments were things like “Yuuri this one looks like he has a lot of swag” or “Yuuri the color of this one reminds me of a caramel macchiato let’s go to Starbuckssssssssss.”  The little peeks into Yuuri's day to day life were a big part of what kept Viktor coming back for more.  Yuuri just seemed like quite a sweet guy, even if he was a little awkward.

Viktor still didn’t follow the account, though.  He told himself that he was being inconspicuous.  Even though he liked all the photos, he figured Yuuri wouldn't notice because even his most unpopular photos still got over 150 likes.  Plus, he wasn’t sure he wanted his feed to be cluttered up with random plastic horses in case someone else saw.  What was he supposed to say?  “I accidentally found this really cute selfie that this model horse collector guy took, so now I follow his account just in case he posts another one”?  No, he’d just keep checking in from time to time.

After a shoot, Viktor decided to stop in at a cute little restaurant for lunch.  Since he was by himself, he had nothing better to do than play on his phone while he waited for food.  This also had the benefit of making it easier to ignore the people randomly snapping pictures of him through the restaurant window.  No doubt he had been in about ten snapchats captioned “omgggg look at this guy!!!” or something to that effect since he sat down for lunch.  He didn’t exactly like it, but it also didn’t exactly bother him since he was used to it, and anyway he thought it was kind of flattering in a way.

His eyes went wide when he saw what was at the top of his notifications on his lock screen.

“Instagram: **yuuris_plastic_ponies** liked your photo”

Viktor tried not to be too disappointed that the photo was of Makkachin and not him.   Makkachin was ridiculously cute, though, so he couldn’t really blame Yuuri…

Wait.

Yuuri liked his photo.

Therefore Yuuri had noticed Viktor liking _his_ photos.

_Yuuri had noticed him._

Viktor wiggled in his seat, but attempted to compose himself when he saw the waitress coming with his food.  He tried in vain to focus on his chicken salad sandwich, but all he could think about was the fact that Yuuri had liked the photo.  Had he just realized Viktor liked one of his photos, or had he been aware of Viktor liking his photos all along?  

When his phone buzzed shortly before Viktor got the bill for his meal, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Instagram: **yuuris_plastic_ponies** started following you.”


	2. Yuuri Started a Live Video: Watch it Before it Ends!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor tunes into Yuuri's live stream on Instagram and, if such a thing were possible, thinks Yuuri is even cuter than before. Meanwhile, Yuuri still wonders whether or not it is a bot liking all his photos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you so much for such a great response to chapter one! I hope you all like chapter two just as much!
> 
> Enjoy~ and thanks for reading!

“He followed you back, now can we _please_ DM him?” Phichit pleaded.

“You’ve been asking for days, Phichit, why would the answer be any different now?  I mean, anyway, shouldn’t he DM _me_?  I followed him first,” Yuuri sighed, carefully adjusting the model horse to a more favorable angle before snapping a photo.  Entries for a photo show he wanted to participate in were due in a few hours.  Thankfully, Phichit had volunteered to hold his light while he got his entries together.  As much as Yuuri wished he owned a real photography set up with a light box and all, he didn’t.  As such, he had to make due with Phichit standing behind him with a lamp.

“Hey, that’s an excuse and you know it.  Plus, I followed him _for_ you!  You can’t take credit for that,” Phichit groused.  Yuuri didn’t need to turn around to know that his friend was pretending to pout.

“It’s probably a bot, anyway.  I mean, why would a super successful male model follow my model horse page?  It doesn’t make very much sense, unless he like, secretly collects Breyer horses or something,” Yuuri frowned as he attempted to get another picture of his horse.  “Phichit, try to hold the light more still please…. Wait, are  you taking selfies?”

“Maybe?” Phichit attempted to look apologetic as Yuuri turned and caught him in the act posing with his phone raised.

“Oh my God,” Yuuri tried to look stern but he couldn’t help but laugh.  “Just one more picture, I promise.  ‘Smoke ‘n Mirrors’ is the last horse I need a photo of.  I’m just trying to take this in a way that de-emphasizes her wonky shoulder anatomy.”

“Her what?” Phichit tucked his phone away and held the light properly again.

“This mold has a few different versions.  In the ‘head down’ version of the mold, like this horse, it kind of has extra shoulder muscles that a real horse wouldn’t have,” Yuuri explained.  “So I’m trying to make it so it doesn’t really stand out so much in the picture because a lot of judges don’t like it.”

“There’s so much to think about when you do this, isn’t there?  I never would have guessed model horses were this complicated until I became your roommate,” Phichit said thoughtfully, setting down the lamp once Yuuri stopped taking photos.  “Do you think they have photo shows for hamsters?”

“I mean, probably?  It wouldn’t surprise me anyway.  You should look it up, Phichit, and if it does exist I can help you with your hamster photos since you help me with my horses,” Yuuri smiled at his friend.  Considering hamsters were fairly wiggly creatures, they’d probably be considerably harder to work with than plastic horses.  Regardless, he would be happy to help.  After everything Phichit did for him, it would be the least he could do.

“I’m gonna go Google it!  You’re the best, Yuuri!”  Phichit was gone from the room in a flash, leaving Yuuri to put away his horses and get his entries submitted.

After a moment's consideration, Yuuri added a quick photo of ‘Smoke ‘n Mirrors’ in front of the backdrop to his Instagram Story.  Lately, he was trying to make better use of the feature since his followers seemed to like it.  He captioned it “photo show entries done at last!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ”

Once everything was cleaned up, Yuuri got his laptop and settled in at his desk with some music.  Now that the photos were taken, it was time to start cropping and labeling them with the names and breeds of each model.  While he enjoyed the process somewhat, it did get a bit tedious after a while, especially with so many entries to juggle.  He took a quick break to scroll through Instagram and see which of his followers had viewed his story.  At first it seemed like the usual suspects:  Sunset_Stallion25, that_breyer_blogger, stonehorsesensation, and of course, phichit+chu, among others.    
However, one of the first accounts to see the story was none other than v_nikiforov.  Yuuri bit his lip.   _Would a bot watch my story?  Did bots even do that_?  He briefly considered asking Phichit, but he knew that would only bring about more requests to message the model.  Although Yuuri was quite certain it was a bot liking his photos, the possibility that it _wasn’t_ one was kind of exciting.  Honestly, he’d be disappointed to find out it was a bot at this point, no matter how silly that was.  Shaking his head, he forced himself to go back to compiling his entries.

“Done at last,” Yuuri whispered some time later.  The last picture got submitted alarmingly close to the deadline, but Yuuri made it just in time.  He hoped his horses would earn some good placings so he could add some more ribbons to his wall.

“Yuuuuuri, you got a big box in the mail!  I just signed for it,” Phichit yelled from the front hallway.  

“They’re here!”  Yuuri leapt to his feet and scrambled out of his room, nearly slipping and falling when his socks hit the hardwood floor.  He regained his footing and raced to meet Phichit.  

“Are these all the horses you bought from that lady in the United States?” Phichit asked as he handed over the box, smiling at Yuuri’s excitement.

“Yeah!”  Yuuri’s cheeks flushed as he looked at the cardboard box.  It _was_ really big.  Shipping it had cost him an arm and a leg, but it was _here_ and he couldn’t wait to tear into it.  “Phichit can I borrow your tripod?  I want to go live on Instagram to open it!”

~*~

Viktor sat on the couch with Makkachin messing around on Instagram.  There was supposed to be a photo shoot that afternoon, but the photographer was sick so it had been postponed, and now he had nothing to do.  Technically, Viktor could have gone out and explored the city, but he wasn’t really in the mood because it was a bit rainy.  Anyway, even though he’d been living in Japan for work for a little over a month now, he still found himself getting lost more often than not.

“Yuuri just posted another picture in his story, Makkachin.  Shall we see what it is?  Maybe it's another selfie finally,” Viktor briefly considered the fact that he should probably try and make some local friends to hang out with.  In the absence of human interaction, he found himself talking to Makkachin a little bit too much.  Yuuri’s bio did say he lived in Japan, but Viktor told himself not to dwell on it since the odds that they lived anywhere near each other were pretty slim.  Even if Yuuri was close by, how could he even go about meeting him?  Pushing the thought away before he could pursue it further, he clicked on Yuuri’s story.

It was a big cardboard box with the address scribbled over so no one could read it.  “GOING LIVE IN 5 MINUTES TO OPEN THIS!!!!   o(^▽^)o ”

Viktor bit his sleeve and replayed the story so he could see the last photo again.

_Going live._

_Yuuri was going LIVE._

_Yuuri was going live in FIVE minutes!!_

An involuntary, excited noise burst from Viktor’s throat.  This was even better than another selfie.  In just a few short moments, he could see Yuuri in real time.  He was even going to be able to hear Yuuri’s _voice._

Five minutes had never passed quite so slowly before.  Viktor jiggled his knee as he waited for the notification to come up that Yuuri was going live.  Sensing her owner’s impatience, Makkachin whined until Viktor reached over to ruffle her ears.   He was so glad that, after a few moments of panicked deliberation, he had decided to follow Yuuri back on Instagram a few days ago.  If he hadn’t he would be missing out on _this._

“Instagram: **yuuris_plastic_ponies** started a live video.  Watch it before it ends!”  Viktor clicked onto Yuuri’s live stream at lightning speed, not wanting to miss a moment.

“Umm, hi everyone!  Yuuri here.  Sorry, if my English isn’t the best, but I figured the most people could understand me if I did the stream in English,” Yuuri laughed nervously and Viktor leaned closer to his screen.  He looked even cuter than Viktor remembered from the selfie.  And his voice was very sweet, too, even if he was a bit stuttery from nerves.  Viktor was very glad that he had taken English when he was in school, and that he had kept up with it so he could understand.  Immediately, comments went along the bottom of the screen telling Yuuri that his English was great so he shouldn’t worry about it.  “Thanks, guys!  I appreciate it,” Yuuri blushed as he read what his followers wrote.

Yuuri was seated cross legged on the floor in front of a bookshelf crammed with an assortment of model horses.  Unfortunately, Viktor wasn’t able to get the best look at what he was wearing due to the massive cardboard box in front of him.  He _could_ see that Yuuri was wearing polka-dot socks on his feet, though.  “Cute!!” whispered Viktor before turning his attention back to what Yuuri was saying.

“Anyway, so if you saw in my story, the reason I’m going live is to show you what’s in this box that just came in the mail.  Also, this is my first time going live, so, uh, please bear with me!  So, as most of you know, I live in Japan, and international shipping is _really_ expensive.  Like you don’t even wanna know how much it cost to have this shipped here,” Yuuri patted the top of the box and laughed.  “But this box was actually a pretty good deal.  There’s this model horse dealer in the United States who was kind enough to hang onto my purchases from her for a while, and then ship them all in one go to save me some money.  Like, this box was pricey to ship, but I honestly probably saved over a hundred dollars doing it this way compared to if I had each purchase shipped individually when I bought it.  This is literally months worth of horses, though, so it was kind of hard to wait for them.  I guess the advantage is now I have this giant, amazing box to open,” Yuuri explained as he sliced the top of the box open with scissors.  “So, uh, hold onto your hats guys, ‘cause there are a lot of plastic horses in here.”  Yuuri’s cheeks reddened further.  “God, that was cheesy, sorry…”

Viktor laughed.  It had definitely been kind of a corny thing to say, but since Yuuri was the one to say it, it just seemed sweet and funny.  Yuuri’s followers seemed to think so, too, based on the comment scroll.  Viktor was tempted to join the people leaving comments on the stream, but he couldn’t quite get the nerve up to do it.  Not yet, at any rate.

Yuuri rooted around in the box for a moment, sending a small cascade of packing peanuts over the edge of the flap.  He grinned excitedly as his hand emerged with a model mummified in bubblewrap and other protective packing material.

“Here we go, everyone!  The first horse.  Now, uhm, I _think_ I know who this is, but I can’t be sure till I get him unwrapped,” Yuuri carefully started to peel away the layers covering the model, and his eyes lit up once he finally had enough bubble wrap cleared away to see the horse. “It’s the original ‘Sherman Morgan’ with the old style tail!  I have a few new style tail Shermies, but this guy is my first with the old tail,” Yuuri brandished the reddish, prancing horse proudly and held him up for everyone to see.     
In spite of his freshly gained model horse knowledge from Yuuri’s page, Viktor didn’t really know what he was talking about.  However, Yuuri’s joy made it enjoyable to watch even if he hadn't the foggiest notion what a "new tail Shermie" was.  Viktor experienced vicarious glee just observing Yuuri's delight at opening the package.

Viktor balanced his phone on Makkachin’s back, who had since decided to ignore her owner’s theatrics and fall asleep.  He hugged his knees to his chest as he watched Yuuri unwrap more and more plastic horses.  Soon Yuuri seemed practically surrounded by horses of all shapes and sizes as he made his way through the box.  However, Viktor was far more interested in Yuuri than the horses around him.  Seeing him in video form served to confirm something for Viktor: Yuuri was ridiculously, sublimely, incredibly adorable.   _It’s not even okay how cute he is,_ Viktor thought, squeezing his knees tighter.   _Like, he’s the most cute?  How is it even possible for someone to be this cute..._

“Oh gosh, okay, so I know who this is!”  Yuuri pressed the bubble wrapped model to his chest momentarily before he began opening it.  “This fellow is special because he’s the second to last horse I need to finish my ‘Pluto’ mold conga.  Well, if I ever _do_ finish it.  I need to find that damn Spiegel Holiday Catalogue Special Edition Pluto first.  Heh, whoops, sorry for swearing, but that horse is _so_ hard to find.  I’ve never even seen one for sale,” Yuuri pursed his lips as he considered the elusive model.  

Viktor blushed when he imagined how what Yuuri’s face would look like if he ever tracked one down.  He blushed harder when he imagined being the one to _give_ Yuuri that horse.  Shaking his head, Viktor forced his attention back to the video.  It was unlikely that he’d ever meet Yuuri, let alone present him with some fantastically rare model horse.

“Anyway, here’s ‘Favory’!  He’s a special edition from Germany.  Isn’t he lovely?”

In a sudden burst of confidence, Viktor picked up his phone and typed in “He’s a beautiful model.  His color is very unique.  Congrats on getting him :) ”  Before he could change his mind, he submitted the comment.  

Yuuri looked at his own screen and read the comment.  The corners of his mouth quirked up into a smile and Viktor’s heart thumped when Yuuri started speaking again.  “Thank you so much for saying so, uh, …” his voice trailed off for a moment as he checked the username attached to the comment.  Viktor wondered if he imagined the way Yuuri’s brown eyes widened and blinked a few times before continuing, “...v_nikiforov.  He definitely is a pretty horse for sure!”  Yuuri collected himself quickly and continued with his unboxing, but his cheeks seemed to be just a bit flushed.

What had Yuuri’s pause meant?  Did he recognize Viktor’s username?  And why was he blushing?  Viktor chewed his lip as he considered the possibilities of Yuuri’s reaction.   _Is this just wishful thinking on my part?  Or did he really blink like that and go red when he saw my username?_

Encouraged by Yuuri’s acknowledgement of his comment, Viktor steeled his nerves.

_I’m gonna do it._

_I’m DMing Yuuri after his livestream is over._

~*~

“Bye, everybody!  Thanks for hanging out with me while I opened this box.  I appreciate all the comments and stuff a lot.  I’ll be sure to do this again because it was really fun, so I hope you liked it, too.  So, uh, _sayonara_ everyone!  Until next time!”  Yuuri waved awkwardly and closed his livestream before launching himself onto his bed and burying his face in his pillow.  He double checked that he had ended the stream.  “Phiiiiiiichiiit!!”  He hollered, and then pulled the covers over his head.

“What’s up, Yuuri?”  Phichit opened the door and carefully picked his way around the plastic horses littering Yuuri’s floor.  He hopped up on Yuuri’s bed and joined him under the covers.  “Was the live stream okay?” Phichit asked, clearly concerned and a little confused.  “It sounded good from out there.”

“Uh, yeah, it was great, but, uhm, the _comment!_ ”  Yuuri said into his pillow, muffling his words somewhat.

“Did someone say something mean to you, Yuuri?  If they did, I swear…” Phichit sounded very serious all of a sudden in a departure from his usual playful banter.

“No, no, no!  It was a nice comment!”  Yuuri sat up under the blanket and flapped his hands placatingly.  

“Then what’s the matter?” The corner’s of Phichit’s mouth turned downwards as he tried to figure out what was wrong.

“ _He_ commented!” Yuuri wailed, going bright red.

“‘He’ who?” Phichit asked patting Yuuri on the arm reassuringly as Yuuri buried his face in his pillow again.  “Wait!  You don’t mean the male model, do you?”  Phichit’s eyes gleamed with excitement  and he shook Yuuri’s shoulder.  “What did he say Yuuri?!”

“He said that my model horse was pretty,” Yuuri mumbled, sitting up again and facing Phichit.

“That’s a good thing, right?  So it’s not a bot after all.  I had a feeling it wasn’t one,” Phichit said brightly.  

“I dunno, I guess I’m just surprised.  Like why is he messaging _me_?” Yuuri worried.  A notification pinged in on his phone, and he took one look at it before he yelped and whipped his phone to the end of his bed.

“What in the world was that about, Yuuri?” Phichit jumped, surprised by his friend’s sudden movement.

“v_nikiforov!  He DMed me!” Yuuri gasped, grabbing his pillow and hugging it to his chest.

“Now _that’s_ what I’m talking about!” Phichit enthused, pumping the air with his fist while Yuuri gave him a withering look.  “Can I look at it, Yuuri?”

“Okay, just don’t reply or do anything crazy without telling me…”

“Of course I wouldn’t do that!  Tsk, tsk Yuuri.  I’m your best friend so you ought to trust me a little more,” Phichit teased.  He unlocked Yuuri’s phone and navigated to the message.  “Anyway, he said ‘Hello Yuuri!  I enjoyed watching your live stream today.  There definitely were a couple of horses in that box I wouldn’t mind having in my own collection.’  He signed the message ‘Viktor’ and then he did a smiley emoji.  Huh, I guess he actually is into model horses then.  That’s a bit surprising.”

“Why else would he be on my page if he wasn’t a bot and he didn’t collect horses?”  Yuuri asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Well, uh, never mind that for now.  What’s more important is replying to him,” Phichit said, clearly enjoying the situation a lot more than Yuuri.

“Do we have to reply?” Yuuri fretted.

“Well, we already looked at it, so what are we gonna do, leave the poor guy on ‘read?’ That’s not very nice, Yuuri,” Phichit patted Yuuri on the shoulder when he saw his horrified expression.  “How about we say ‘Thank you Viktor!  I’m glad you liked it.  What kind of horses do you collect?’  How does that sound?”

“Good… um, you can send it…” Yuuri said after a moment of deliberation.  Phichit sent the message, and for a moment all was quiet in the blanket fort formed by Yuuri’s quilt sitting on top of their heads.  Then, a message pinged in.

“He said ‘What do you mean?’” Phichit read, and handed Yuuri the phone.  Screwing his mouth up, Yuuri collected his courage and typed out a response.

“I said ‘Like artist resins or customs or clinkies or original finish plastic?  That kind of thing.’” Yuuri read his reply aloud, and Phichit nodded with a great deal of enthusiasm.  Taking a deep breath, Yuuri sent the message.

The reply was almost immediate.

“He says ‘Original finish plastic for me!  My collection is pretty small compared to yours since I travel a lot.’”  Yuuri read.  He typed away for a second.  “Here’s my reply: ‘Cool!  I have a bit of a mix of things but OF plastic is my favorite to collect.  All sizes of collections are nice!  What counts is that you enjoy your herd.  I would love to see a picture of your horses sometime!’  I also added a smiley.  Is that too forward?  Asking if I can see his horses, I mean.”

“No, I think it’s perfect.  Go ahead and send it,” Phichit replied.  Yuuri was immeasurably glad that he had Phichit with him to coach him through the messages.  Otherwise he probably would have ignored the model, well now he knew his name, so Viktor, forever.

“The reply is here.  Viktor says ‘I’m away for a little bit, but once I get home from my trip, I’ll gladly send you a photo of them.’” Yuuri read, smiling a little bit in spite of himself.  It was getting a little bit easier to talk to Viktor as he went.  “So I just said ‘Great!  I’ll look forward to it.’  Oh, wow, he already replied!  He said he has to go now but it was nice talking.  So I’ll just say I liked it to.”

“See, you did great, Yuuri!” Phichit praised once the final message was sent.  “That wasn’t so hard was it?  He may be a super hot male model, but apparently he’s a plastic horse nerd just like you.”

Yuuri laughed and hugged his friend, “Thanks Phichit.  You’re the best.”

~*~

“Hi Chris!  I kind of have an interesting favor to ask you,” Viktor said once his friend answered the Facetime call.  

“Sure thing, what’s up Viktor?” Chris replied.  “What kind of _interesting_ favor?”  He winked rather suggestively, and Viktor chose to ignore him.  Chris was good looking, with bright green eyes and blond hair styled into an undercut.  His chin and upper lip were a little scruffy, but in a well tamed, on purpose sort of way.  

“You’re at home in Switzerland right now, yes?” Viktor asked.  Chris nodded and Viktor went on.  “Terrific!  Would you be so kind as to pop over to Germany for me and buy at _least_ five model horses and send them to me in Japan with the fastest possible shipping?  And when I say at least five, I really mean five is the bare minimum.  Like, the more horses the better.  I’ll pay you back, naturally.”

“You want me to buy you _what?!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone!! I really hoped you enjoyed chapter two! This fic is honestly so fun to write, and I was absolutely blown away by the response to chapter one. I've never gotten so much feedback and such on something in such a short time. Thank you SO much, everyone!!!!  
> Anyway, please let me know what you think! I welcome constructive criticism, too, so I can improve my writing. So if you think there's something I could be doing better, please tell me!  
> My tumblr is http://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/ Please feel free to drop me a line there for comments, questions, to tag me in things related to this fic, or just say hi! or if you want to discuss how much of an angel Phichit is lolol  
> Until next time, everyone! Stay fantastic, my friends <3


	3. In Which Chris Comes to the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris and Viktor discuss the situation with Yuuri. Thankfully for Viktor, Chris is a good friend who doesn't mind lending a hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I am seriously loving writing this story, and I'm also absolutely loving the positive response you all have had to this fic! I'm so very thankful for all of the comments and kudos!
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed working on it!

“Alright, alright.  Hold up a second so I can make sure I’ve got this straight,” Chris interrupted, holding up his hand.  He looked rather exasperated even through the small view provided by Viktor’s phone screen.  “So you accidentally found a selfie that was posted by some toy horse guy-”

“ _ Model  _ horse,” Viktor corrected, it was his turn to interrupt now.  Seated at his kitchen table while he Facetimed Chris, he drummed his fingers against the wooden surface with impatience.  “I already told you Chris, they’re  _ model  _ horses, not toys.”

“Okay,  _ model  _ horse guy.  And then you stalked him on Instagram for a while,” Chris went on, still appearing more than slightly perplexed by the whole thing.

“‘Stalking’ may be a bit of a harsh word,” Viktor pouted, and Chris proceeded to ignore him, but not before rolling his green eyes.

“And then, rather than proceed with this social interaction like a normal human being and just tell him you thought he was a cutie, you decided to lie to him and say that you, too, collect toy horses,” Chris corrected himself before Viktor had a chance to, “Sorry,  _ model  _ horses.  You don’t need to tell me again.  So now, as a result, I need to go to Germany and buy you some so you don’t get caught up in your little fib, correct?”

“That’s more or less the situation, yes,” Viktor sighed.  It sounded even sillier when Chris explained it that way.  He already knew it was just a little bit silly, but hearing it out loud made it sound even more so.  Well, maybe "silly" wasn't quite the right word.  Unexpected?  Odd?  Ridiculous, even?  Mulling it over, Viktor pursed his lips.  

“Hang on, why do I need to go to Germany?  Can’t I just get them here in Switzerland?  Better yet, why don’t you buy them yourself in Japan?”  Chris shifted so he had his chin propped up on his arm while he studied Viktor.

“Well, for starters, model horses aren’t really popular here so finding any, let alone decent ones, would be easier said than done.  If it even  _ was _ possible, that is.  And I wasn’t able to find a website that sold them that had international shipping and wouldn’t take forever to get here,” Viktor described the situation.  “I did some research on where to buy them, and you’ll have better luck in Germany than Switzerland.  Since you’re right by the border, I figured it would be okay.  So will you help me?” Viktor couldn’t keep the pleading edge out of his voice.  If Chris said no, his plan was essentially wrecked  and any of his progress with Yuuri squandered.  

“Fine.  But only because you’re my friend, okay?  And you owe me _ big _ time,”  Chris sounded vexed, but he hadn’t said “no,” and Viktor felt a weight come off his shoulders.  “So where exactly do I buy these things?”

“The best places to look are stores where they sell supplies and equipment for real horses and toy stores,” Viktor explained, much happier now with Chris’ agreement to help.  

“Toy stores?  I thought you said they weren’t toys?” Chris interjected.

“They aren’t!  It’s  _ different _ !”  Viktor replied hotly, earning another eyeroll from Chris.  “Anyway, after I hang up I’ll send you some pictures and information about what exactly you ought to be looking for.”

“Okay.  I still can’t believe you’re making me do this, though,” Chris grumbled, but Viktor could tell he wasn’t as put out as he was pretending to be.  “Seriously, though, why did you make up this whole crazy story for him?  You could have just told him that you thought he seemed cute and you wanted to chat.  Even  _ I  _ think what you’re doing is over the top, and coming from me that’s really saying something.”

“That would have been weird!  Everyone that follows him has pages about horses or whatever, so it would have seemed all creepy if I did that.” Chris still appeared unconvinced, so Viktor went on,  “Anyway, from his posts and that livestream, he seems most comfortable talking about model horses.  I don’t want to freak him out or something.”

“Just going out on a limb here, Viktor, but even though I have no idea who this dude is I’m gonna go ahead and assume that he’s fully capable of talking about something other than plastic horses.  He must have a life outside of these things.  I mean, you and I can talk about more than modeling right?  And we’re perfectly capable of talking to other people who aren’t models, no?   So I’m sure it’s the same way for your plastic horse boy.  You ought to have given him the benefit of the doubt,” Chris said, and Viktor frowned because his friend’s words made more sense than he wanted to admit they did.  

“Well, he seems pretty shy,” Viktor said in a stiff tone.  He couldn’t help but feel like he hadn’t really thought things through before sending that DM to Yuuri.  

“Even if you’re right, which I don’t think you are, and you  _ needed  _ to talk to him about model horses, why didn’t you just tell him that you’re new to the hobby and you don’t have any models yet, but you’d love to learn more about them?”  Chris asked, and Viktor blinked rapidly for a moment before dropping his head to the table with an audible  _ thunk.   _  Viktor groaned, loud, before he mumbled something unintelligible.  “What?”

“I should have talked to you before I messaged him,” Viktor moaned, head still down.  He enunciated his words more clearly this time so Chris could understand even in the midst of Viktor's pity party.

“Yes, you should have.  But you didn’t and now you have yourself in a big old mess.  Lucky for you, I am a lovely and gracious person.  Thus, I, Christophe Giacometti, will go to Germany and get you plastic horses.  You’re welcome,” Chris preened for a moment as Viktor heaped praise upon him.   “Before I do, though, can you at least show me what the guy you’re trying to impress looks like?  He must be quite the cutie if you’re willing to go to such lengths, or should I say make  _ me  _ go to such lengths.”

“Yeah, I can send you the link to his Instagram along with the information about the model horses once we hang up,” Viktor said, but then he hesitated for a moment.  “Actually, on second thought, I’ll just take a screenshot of the selfie and send it to you.”

“Why, Vitya?  Are you worried I’m going to try and steal your cute plastic horse boy right out from under your nose?” Chris purred, jokingly using Viktor’s nickname and winking at him.

“...No,” Viktor huffed.  “But I don’t want you to even have the chance to try.”

“You’re no fun,” Chris laughed.  “I should get going, though, since I unexpectedly need to go to  _ Germany  _ on a plastic pony shopping excursion.”

“Alright, goodbye.  Really though, Chris, thanks.  You’re an absolute life saver,” Viktor smiled.

“That’s what I’m here for.  See ya, Viktor,” Chris grinned back before ending the Facetime call with a cheery wave.

Before he could get sidetracked with the information about model horse hunting he had to send Chris, Viktor got Yuuri’s selfie and sent that first.  It didn't take very long since it was saved to his camera roll.  Almost immediately, Chris texted back.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Chris**

**Wow, he really is a cutie.  You were right to be worried about me trying to steal him from you lololol**

Before Viktor had a chance to respond, another message pinged in.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Chris**

**Also, you sent that REALLY fast.  You already had that selfie saved to your phone, didn’t you ;)**

Viktor just groaned.

~*~

**To: Viktor**

**From: Chris**

**Skype call me now please so you can admire the metric fuck ton of plastic horses that I just busted my ass getting for you.**

**To: Chris**

**From: Viktor**

**… “metric fuck ton?”**

**To: Viktor**

**From: Chris**

**Wow is this how you thank me I thought we were friends**

Rather than actually reply, Viktor opened up Skype on his laptop and put in a call to Chris.  Without missing a beat, Chris picked up and appeared on Viktor’s screen sporting a toothy smile.  An array of plastic horses pranced and posed across what Viktor recognized as Chris’ kitchen table.

“Tadaaaa!” Chris spread his arms wide, looking immensely proud of himself.  

“Wow!  Amazing!”  Viktor clapped his hands together in appreciation.  He hadn’t been exactly sure what he expected Chris to return with, but his friend had come through in grand style.  Then again, Chris never did anything halfway if he could help it so Viktor shouldn’t have doubted him after all.  “There are so many!”

“You said the more ponies the better, so I knew I had to really deliver,” Chris’ green eyes sparkled with excitement.  “Let me show you what I got.  I hope it’s okay that I took them all out of their boxes.  I wanted you to be able to see them well.  Anyway, I figured it would be less expensive to ship them if they were just wrapped up in bubble wrap instead of in the boxes.”

“Good thinking!”  Viktor nodded.  Even though he was beyond pleased with the amount of models Chris had managed to get his hands on, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little concerned by how much shipping them would cost.  He knew that he could afford it regardless, especially since he had received a paycheck for a big photoshoot the day before.  Still, that didn't mean he was looking forward to dropping some serious cash on, as Chris had so eloquently phrased it, shipping “a metric fuck ton” of plastic horses.

“Okay let me show you what I found.  First, though, I want you to know that I had to go to like five toy shops and a bunch of tack stores find these. It was a  _ pain, _ ” Chris grumbled, but Viktor knew he was feigning annoyance.   It wasn’t very tricky to see that his friend was mostly putting it on for the sake of being dramatic. “And at like every single store the people were like ‘oh, what lucky little girl are you buying these for?’  At first I made up an imaginary niece, but eventually I got bored. Then I started saying ‘no, no, these are actually for my best friend so he can seduce a man he met online.’”  Chris punctuated the sentence with a smirk.

“Oh my god,” Viktor dropped his forehead to the table as Chris cackled.  “Chris, why.”  It wasn’t a question so much as a resigned statement.

“Heh, well it’s not like you’ll ever meet them.  I may as well have a little fun while I’m helping you with your crazy scheme.  Anyway, it’s literally true.  That _ is _ why I was buying them,” Chris snickered.

“I suppose so,” Viktor grumped.  He was eager to change the tack of the conversation.  “Let’s see the bounty, shall we?”

“Yeah!  I think I got some really good ones.  They ought to knock your plastic horse cutie’s socks right off,” Chris looked pleased.  He knew he’d done well as he walked Viktor through his plastic horse purchases one by one.  They were mostly Breyer horses, with a few Schleichs thrown in for good measure.  “I saved the best for last, naturally.  This one is my favorite.”

Chris held a white horse in an energetic pose up to the webcam with no small amount of pride.  “The box said her name is Banks Vanilla, which seems like a super weird name to me but whatever.  Look how  _ sassy  _ she is!  Look at her little wiggly upper lip!”  He shoved the horse’s nose right up to the webcam so Viktor could see what he was talking about.  It was a bit hard to tell with Chris waving her all around, but the horse definitely  _ did  _ have a cute expression. “This is the best horse here for sure.  Your plastic horse boy  _ better  _ love her.  She deserves it.”

“My oh my, Chris,” Viktor couldn’t help but smile at Chris’ rather surprising enthusiasm.  “I’m a touch worried she won’t make it into the box with the others.  I think you may try and kidnap her for yourself.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be there.  My girl Banks Vanilla is gonna help you get some,” Chris wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.  

“Please never ever say that ever again,” Viktor’s cheeks flushed a violent shade of pink.  “Wait, you never showed me that brown and black one in the front.”

“Oh, right.  That one.  Poor girl’s kind of ugly,” Chris picked the horse up and held her in front of the camera for Viktor to see.  With his limited model horse knowledge, Viktor was able to identify her as a Classic scale horse, and she looked to be on the older side to him.  She was a simple bay with a reddish brown body and a black mane and tail.  

“Well, I don’t think she’s ugly so much as unassuming and a little bit plain compared to some of the others.  She’s very charming in a simple kind of way,” Viktor drummed his fingers on the kitchen table.  “Did you get her a toy store?  She looks like a less recent model to me.”

“Actually, I saw her in the window of a second hand shop. It was before I’d had much luck in the toy stores and tack shops, so I went in and bought her even though she’s not very impressive.  I thought just in case I couldn’t find enough horses elsewhere, it would be bad to pass on her.  Anyway, you said the more models the better so I figured it couldn’t hurt,” Chris explained with a shrug.  “I walked around the rest of the store, but she was the only horse in there.  Do you want me to send her even though she’s not much to look at?  If you don’t I can give her to a kid or whatever to save you on postage.”

“No, please send her anyway.  The more the merrier,” Viktor said after a moment of consideration.  “Thank you so much, Chris.  I don’t know what I would have done without you to bail me out here.”

Chris waved his hand in a “don’t worry about it” gesture.  “It’s all good, Viktor.  I’m happy to help out, you know that.  I actually sort of had fun dashing around trying to find all these, in a weird way.  I’m not gonna run off and start collecting them myself or whatever, but they’re less lame than I thought they would be,”  he laughed.  

“Seriously though, I appreciate you doing this for me so much.  I really owe you one,” Viktor said earnestly.

“Like I said, it’s all good.  You can make it up to me by not messing things up with your plastic horse guy.  I wanna be the best man at your wedding,” Chris winked.  

“Oh my god.”

~*~

“Phichit!!  Viktor messaged me!”  Yuuri yelled, popping his head into his roommate’s bedroom.  Phichit sat cross legged on the floor assembling a new hamster play structure.  Cinnamon, Spice, and Pepper sat clustered on his shoulder observing the construction.  

“ _ Oooo _ !  I like the sound of that!”  Phichit gestured for Yuuri to come into his room and join him on the floor.  One of the hamsters scrambled down Phichit’s arm and scurried up onto Yuuri’s knee.

“Hiya, Cinnamon,” Yuuri smiled and patted the tiny creature gently on the head and back with his index finger.  The hamster squeaked happily, enjoying the attention.  

“So what did he say?  Don’t leave me in suspense here, Yuuri.”

“I haven’t opened it yet.  Hang on,” Yuuri opened the message and read it aloud.  “‘Hi, Yuuri, I hope all is well with you.  I’m back from my trip now so I can send you a picture of my horses if you’d still like to see them.’”

“Message him back fast!  We gotta catch him while he’s still online!”  Phichit encouraged and shook Yuuri’s shoulder.  Clearly he was just as excited as Yuuri by the latest development in the whole crazy situation.  

“I’m working on it, I’m working on it.  I can’t type with you shaking my arm, Phichit,”  Yuuri chided.  “Anyway, you almost tipped Spice over!”  Phichit looked contrite as he settled Spice into a more comfortable position on his shoulder.

“Wow!  He already sent back a photo.  That was fast.  He says, ‘it’s not much, but here are my horses’ and a smiley emoji,”  Yuuri muttered, zooming in on the picture to get a good look at the small collection.  “He must be a fairly new collector.  These are all pretty recent regular runs.  Still, it’s a nice little collection.  Wait.”  Yuuri’s eyes went wide.

“What?” Phichit asked, looking at the photo, trying and failing to see what caught Yuuri’s attention.  

“No way!  No  _ way. _ ”

“What, Yuuri?”

“Oh my  _ gosh.   _ Literally, how can he say his collection isn’t much when he has  _ her?   _ I can’t even believe it, but that’s definitely her. Oh, wow.  Gosh.  This is-”  Yuuri rambled, laser focused on one of the horses on the shelf in the photo.  Phichit prodded his arm, looking at Yuuri curiously.

“Yuuri, I don’t know very much about this so you’re gonna have to clue me in here,” Phichit reminded his friend.

“Phichit, Viktor owns  _ Hatatitla!! _ ”  Yuuri exclaimed as if that explained everything.  He jabbed his finger against the phone screen, pointing out a plain brown and black horse partially obscured by some of her larger shelf mates.  

“Hata-what-what?  Yuuri, I don’t know what that is,”  Phichit said, perplexed, and Yuuri grabbed his arm.

“Hatatitla!!”  Yuuri practically yelled, startling Cinnamon off his knee and causing her to jump up into Phichit’s lap.  “She’s a German exclusive special run from 1990.  There were a touch less than 650 of them made.  That’s not a particularly small run number, but there are very few of them in the collecting community.  So she is  _ really, really  _ rare.  She’s an incredible model own.  I’m not even sure when the last time I saw one come up for sale was, now that I think about it.  Gosh, I’m jealous.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool, then.  I can see why you’re so excited.  Hurry, though and reply before he thinks you’re ignoring him,” Phichit said, gesturing at Yuuri’s phone.

“Oh, shoot.  Right,”  Yuuri tapped out a message.

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**Oh my goodness, you own Hatatitla!!**

The reply took a few moments to come in, and both Phichit and Yuuri sat staring at the screen of Yuuri’s phone with bated breath.  Yuuri’s thoughts were spinning.   _ Does he know what a special horse he has in there?  Is he just being humble?  Or did he not mention her because he wanted to see if I’d notice her?  Or, my goodness, does he really not know what he’s got? _

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**That’s a good thing, right?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Chris a lot more than I thought I would haha. He's so fun!
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and all of Chris and Viktor's shenanigans. Also Hatatitla is a real model horse (one that I dream of getting my hands on some day lol). 
> 
> I just got a new computer, so I'm excited that I'll be able to write more consistently again! I have been borrowing computers and or using my phone to write for the past month or so because my old laptop died in epic fashion. So that's very good news!
> 
> As always, comments literally make my entire day! Seriously, logging in and seeing feedback from you guys is the best feeling in the world. So please make sure to tell me what you think! Don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism, either, if you have suggestions for how I can improve. You can reach me on here via the comments, or through my Tumblr (http://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/). You can also just use Tumblr to come say hi or ask questions about the story! Also, if you say/create anything about the fic, please tag me on Tumblr! I'd love to see it. 
> 
> Thanks again for being lovely, everyone! Have a great week and see you next update <3


	4. DMs For Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Viktor continue to DM back and forth and get to know each other. Viktor fears he may have made a slight tactical error in lying to Yuuri about being a model horse collector, too, but he has no choice but to keep up the facade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yahoo! Chapter 4 is here! I hope you all like this one as much as you have the previous ones. Once again, thank you SO much for the great response to the earlier chapters.
> 
> Enjoy~

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**Yes it is a very, very good thing!  She's a super rare German export model who is very scarce even within the hobby.  She's amazing!!  Where did you find her?  Hatatitla comes up for sale so rarely.**

Viktor stared at his phone incredulously and fetched Hatatitla from her spot on the shelf.  Now aware of her apparent rarity, he gently placed her on the table and leaned forward to take a closer look at her.  She just looked like a regular Breyer model to Viktor but knowing her special status gave her a new importance.  This wasn't just a regular model horse, it was a very rare collectible.  Viktor felt rather bemused that he owned something like that, especially where he wasn't even a real collector.  _  Leave it to Chris who has no idea what he’s doing to strike plastic horse gold _ , he thought.

For a moment, Viktor waffled about how to reply.  Given Yuuri’s assertion that the horse didn't get listed for sale very often, his original plan to say that he found her on eBay for a low price didn't seem very plausible.  Given not much else of a choice, Viktor decided to (kind of) tell the truth for the first time in this whole crazy situation.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**Wow, I had no idea she was so special!  A friend of mine actually picked her up for me in a thrift store in Germany a while back because he knows how much I like model horses.  Do you have one in your collection?  Your collection is so great you must!**

It was mostly true, anyway.  Granted, “a while back” was more like less than a week thanks to the modern wonders of EMS shipping.  Not to mention it wasn't so much a case of Viktor liking model horses as Viktor liking Yuuri, but the essence of it wasn't entirely a lie.  Viktor felt the tiniest bit guilty as he looked at the horse, but he sent the message anyway. 

He didn't _ like _ lying to Yuuri, but how else was he supposed to get to know him?  When he sent his first message after the live stream it really seemed like the only option.  Well, that and Viktor had kind of freaked out and sent it without really considering the implications.  Now he wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice after all, but it was too late to turn back.  Chris’ words about how he should have handled the situation buzzed through his mind.

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**Gosh, I wish!  She's the kind of model I’d be willing to sell a kidney for hahaha.  Lucky you that your friend found her for you like that!  That kind of a find is the sort of thing collectors dream of.  :)  Thanks for the compliment about my collection btw, I really appreciate it.**

Viktor was struck by the sudden impulse to offer her to Yuuri, but he dismissed it.  For one thing, a real collector would hold onto a gem of a horse like that with both hands and never let go, at least not for free.  Randomly offering to give her up would likely raise some red flags about Viktor’s legitimacy as a collector, or at least his sanity.  For another, although Viktor was pretty much infatuated with Yuuri already, they had only exchanged a few messages.  As such, giving a lavish gift would be a bit… odd.  In fact, it might even scare Yuuri away.  That was not a risk Viktor was willing to take now that he was finally actually talking to him.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**Wow!  Thank you so much for telling me about her, Yuuri.  I had no idea she was anything out of the ordinary.  I'm so excited to have learned the truth about her thanks to you.**

Yuuri replied so quickly it made Viktor’s heart thump with excitement.  

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**No problem at all!  I'm really happy that I got to be the bearer of good news.  If you'd like I can tell you some more information about her?**

As Viktor pondered what to reply, he felt a wet nose bump against his arm.  Makkachin whined pathetically when Viktor didn't respond to her right away.

“What is it, girl?” Viktor asked, reaching out to pat her and realizing she had her leash in her mouth.  “Oh, I see.  You want your walk, right?  Normally don't we go a little later, Makkachin?”  

She whined again and shook the leash insistently at her owner.  Viktor checked his watch.  “Sorry girl.  You're right.  You aren’t early;  _ I'm _ running a bit late.  Time just flew because I'm having such fun talking to Yuuri.”  Viktor might have imagined it, but he thought Makkachin looked sad to be playing second fiddle to someone her owner hadn't even met yet.  Seeming somehow deflated, she cocked her head to the side and blinked at him with a whimper.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**I'd love that Yuuri!  Right now I need to walk my dog because she's very upset that we haven't gone yet, but maybe you could tell me later?  I can message you soon about it!**

Once again, Yuuri replied swiftly.  

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**No problem!  Have fun with your dog!!  I look forward to talking again soon!**

Viktor pressed his phone to his chest for a second before saying “thank you.”  Yuuri seemed more angelic to him with every passing second.

“He's such a pure soul, Makkachin,” Viktor whispered with a love sick sigh as he clipped on his dog’s leash and slipped on his coat and shoes.  The poodle ignored him, far more intent on getting outside as soon as possible after being so unfairly ignored.

It was nice out, if a little bit nippy, so Makkachin pranced along with eagerness once she and her owner were on the sidewalk.  Even if the big brown poodle had left her puppy days far behind her, she was still a dog with a lot of energy and plenty of enthusiasm for her daily walks.  Plus, Viktor was fairly certain that a good part of the reason why she liked going was because of the adoration of random strangers.  On some days it felt like Makkachin and Viktor could barely make it ten feet down the road without getting stopped with requests to pat her.  Of course, some of the time Viktor was fairly certain that asking to see Makkachin was just a pretense for people to try and chat him up.   Nonetheless, the dog acted as if she were presiding over her own personal fan club.

Today, though, not many people stopped them on their walk through the park and Makkachin could trot along uninterrupted.   _ Maybe it’s because it’s kind of chilly out,  _ Viktor mused, pulling his jacket closer around him as he took his phone out of his pocket to call Chris.

“Hey, hey Viktor.  What are you up to?  No Facetime?”  Chris picked up right away.

“I’m walking Makkachin, and I think it would be a bit tricky to walk her and stare at my phone at the same time,” Viktor explained to his friend.  

“That makes sense.  I can see how my face would be rather distracting.  Tell Makkachin ‘Uncle Chris says hello and and that he loves her very, very much.’”

“Chris, I’m in public, I can’t just say that out loud to my dog!  It’s weird!”  Viktor whined.

“Tell her!”  Chris insisted.

“ _Fine!_ Ваш дядя Крис говорит привет, и он любит тебя очень, очень,” Viktor said to Makkachin, hoping that no one in the immediate vicinity understood Russian.  Makkachin wagged her tail and barked.  Having grown up in Russia and being a very smart dog, Viktor assumed that she recognized the words for “Chris” and “love.”  She quite liked Chris from his visits since he always made sure to bring her a treat.

“No!  In either English or French so I can make sure you say it right, please!  You could have just told her ‘Uncle Chris is dumb’ or something for all I know, ”  Chris scolded, and Viktor could imagine his friend’s pouting face.  Viktor sighed and mentally composed the sentence in French.  However, he hadn’t practiced too much lately and found himself blanking on the word for “uncle” so he went ahead and said it in English even if that was far more likely to be understood by a random passerby.

Groaning theatrically for good measure, Viktor passed along the message to his dog.  “Your Uncle Chris says hello and he loves you very, very much.”  He cringed when a girl walking by giggled.  “Someone heard me say that, Chris.  I hope you’re happy.”

“Oh, I’m very happy.  How could I not be happy since I just told my beautiful niece how much I love her?”  Chris said, evidently rather pleased with himself.

“So I showed Yuuri the horses,”  Viktor started, eager to change the topic.  No longer interested in the discussion now that she was no longer the star of the conversation, Makkachin turned her attention back to her walk.  “He really liked them.  One in particular, though, stood out as something special.”

Chris gasped in excitement, “It was Banks Vanilla, wasn’t it?”

“Well, actually, it was one of the others,”  Viktor began, only to be interrupted by Chris.

“ _ Excuse  _ me?  That’s an outrage!  He didn’t appreciate Banks Vanilla?”  Chris huffed.

“I’m sure he did, but no, she wasn’t the one he really liked a lot.”

“Then I find his taste very questionable.  Banks Vanilla is a  _ delight _ and you and I both know it,”  Chris grumbled.

“Shush, listen for a second.  You’ll really like this,” Once Viktor was certain he had Chris’ attention, he kept going.  “One of the horses that you found is apparently incredibly rare and sought after among model horse collectors!  Yuuri absolutely flipped when he saw it.  His reaction was sooooo cuuuuute!”  Viktor’s cheeks grew flushed just thinking about the excited messages Yuuri sent him.

“Really?!”  Chris asked,  his angst about Banks Vanilla not being fully appreciated forgotten for the moment.

“Yeah!  You should have seen his messages!  He was sooo amped up about the horse it was like the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen seen in my whole life,”  Viktor rambled, taking a moment to dissuade Makkachin from running after a squirrel.

“No, not ‘really’ about Yuuri’s messages, ‘really’ about me finding a rare horse!”  Chris cut Viktor off before he could go off on a tear about how cute Yuuri was.

“ _ Rude!   _ You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d seen the messages.  Yuuri is  _ precious.   _ But yeah, really!  Apparently the horse is some special exclusive that was only ever available in Germany or something?  He said he can’t even think of the last time he even saw one for sale,”  Viktor explained while Chris made little interested noises in the background.

“Well, I mean, I _ am _ Christophe Giacometti, so I suppose it only makes sense that I would be so good at finding plastic horses.  Because who are we kidding, I am a pretty impressive guy, no?”  Chris preened and Viktor laughed.  “Hey, it’s true, isn’t it?  Did you find a rare and fantastic model horse?  I don’t think so.  That was all me.  What horse was it?  If it wasn’t Banks Vanilla, it was probably that one called Totilas, right?  He looked cool.”

“Not quite.  It was actually the one you thought was ugly,”  Viktor chuckled.

“Wait,  _ what?   _ THAT one?”

~*~

Yuuri smiled as he composed a reply to Viktor’s most recent message.  They were involved in a discussion about one of Yuuri’s most recent acquisitions, a vintage Breyer Charcoal Running Stallion.  The horse was in slightly rough shape, but it had been a good price and Yuuri was willing to put some elbow grease into bringing it back to its former glory.  Viktor had expressed that he didn’t know very much about the restoration of vintage models, so Yuuri was filling him in on some relevant facts.     
As he explained the process of sun bleaching a model to brighten up its white points, Yuuri's smile broadened.

At first talking to Viktor had been scary and Yuuri wouldn't have dared to reply to any of his messages without showing Phichit first.  Hell, a fair amount of the time Phichit was actually the one coming up with what to say.  The thought of saying the wrong thing or somehow being awkward filled him with dread.  Phichit continually reassured him that Viktor seemed like a nice guy who wasn't likely to get bent out of shape about a less than eloquent message.  Still, Yuuri had spent most of his early conversations with Viktor feeling more than slightly terrified.  Slowly though, Yuuri felt himself becoming more and more relaxed as they chatted.

Today, even with Phichit out of the apartment and busy in class, Yuuri still messaged back and forth with Viktor without feeling too freaked out.  Even if he did need to SOS text Phichit, odds were his roommate wouldn’t be able to reply since he was in lecture.  Yuuri knew that the lecture Phichit was in currently was small with a professor with a very strict “no phones” policy.  Thus, even if Yuuri messed up the conversation royally, he was on his own.

Actually, knowing Phichit, he would try to reply stealthily so he wouldn't be leaving Yuuri in the lurch and then wind up getting his phone taken away.  Yuuri would feel too guilty if that happened, so he always avoided texting Phichit when he knew his roommate was in lecture.  In the past,  sometimes he waited until Phichit was home to start talking to Viktor.  Today, though, Yuuri felt confident messaging him even without Phichit around to act as his safety net.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**I'd imagine the sun could damage the horses, though.  Couldn't it?**

_ Good question,  _ Yuuri thought as he tapped out his reply.  For a pretty new collector, Viktor seemed insightful to Yuuri.  He came across as very curious and eager for new information.  If Viktor was willing to learn, Yuuri was more than willing to show him the ropes.  He could remember when _ he  _ was just starting out and getting advice from patient, more experienced hobbyists.  Now that Yuuri was filling that role for someone else, he realized it was really quite fun.

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**Oh for sure! You're absolutely right.  Sun fading is a great restoration technique, but you need to be careful with it and check the models often to make sure they aren't getting damaged from too much sun, i.e. getting burns on the plastic, bloating (which is when the hollow part inside the horse gets filled with air and the model puffs up), or bleaching out pinking, etc.  So if you just left a horse in a window and came back six months later without checking on it, there's a good chance you wouldn't like what you found.**

Yuuri pressed send and kept working on the small piece of leather he had in his hands.  He was making a bridle for one of his models, and the leather was too thick as it was and would look bulky on the horse's head.  To remedy the problem, he was thinning it out with a blade by scraping away at the back of the piece.  Even though he was far more comfortable with Viktor than before, he still liked having something to do with his hands while he waited for replies.  That way he couldn't just sit there and worry about the next message.

As he methodically went about skiving the leather, Viktor’s next DM pinged in.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**Oooo, that's good to know Yuuri!  You know so much about this!!  What about fixing scratches in the paint?**

Yuuri explained the best way to go about touching up scratches on models and found himself blushing a little at Viktor’s enthusiastic replies.  He couldn’t help but feel very lucky that Viktor had popped up more or less out of nowhere.  It was hard to believe that he’d ever thought Viktor was a bot spamming his account for likes.   _ Thank goodness I never blocked him or something like that before I knew he was real.  I’d have missed out on making such a neat friend in the hobby, _ Yuuri thought as he awaited Viktor’s next response.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**Hatatitla has some little scrapes on her ears and the edges of her hooves.  I should fix her up** **and make her like new!**

Yuuri cringed.  How was he supposed to nicely say that a beginner like Viktor should stay at least twenty five feet away from a horse like Hatatitla if he had a paintbrush in hand?  He briefly considered just letting it go and encouraging Viktor in his enthusiasm to repair the model.   Then the thought of damage being done to the horse made him start chewing on the inside of his cheek.  Viktor meant well in his intention to attempt fixing the horse.  Still, a well meaning beginner could easily ruin a valuable horse like Hatatitla.

Yuuri’s anxiety over hurting Viktor’s feelings and his desire to preserve the horse were at odds with each other.   _ If I screw this up and say the wrong thing he’ll probably hate me forever and never talk to me again,  _ Yuuri gnawed at his cheek harder.  He checked his watch and squirmed in his seat when he saw that it would be awhile before Phichit would be home to help.  He couldn’t wait that long.

_ What would Phichit say?  _ Yuuri asked himself.   _ First of all, take a few deep breaths and collect yourself so you can think this over.  Rationally, you know that as long as you’re polite about the message Viktor absolutely won’t hate you.  So just think of a nice way to say it and then send the DM.   _ His fingers shook slightly as he composed his reply.

**To: v_nikiforov**

**From: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**I’m sure she’d look great all fixed up!  The only thing is that since she’s a rare horse you probably want to practice restoration on some more common horses first before you tackle such a special model.  Please don’t take this the wrong way!  I’m sure you’d do a great job, it just pays to be careful, you know?  Especially with a horse like her.**

Yuuri twiddled his thumbs, leather work forgotten as he anticipated Viktor's every possible reply.  Scenarios where Viktor did everything from cuss him out to proclaim he’d never speak to Yuuri ever again swirled through his head.  Viktor had never given Yuuri a reason to suspect that he’d do such a thing, but he couldn't help worrying.

**To: yuuris_plastic_ponies**

**From: v_nikiforov**

**No worries, Yuuri~  You didn’t hurt my feelings or anything!  You’re absolutely right that I should practice first so I don’t get ahead of myself.  :)**

Yuuri heaved a sigh of relief.  It was almost like Viktor knew exactly what kind of message Yuuri needed to hear.  He clutched his phone to his chest and tried to ignore the fact that he was sure his cheeks were going even redder than before.

~*~

Yuuri stopped by the park on his walk home from work.  He double checked that he didn’t know anyone in the crowd of people filling the path around the pond before pulling a small fabric pouch out of his jacket pocket.  After another quick glance around him, Yuuri carefully removed a very petite model horse from the pouch and placed him by the edge of the pond.     
His Chestnut Generation One Morgan Stallion Stablemate looked great beside the water, but he only wanted to snap a few quick photos.  He nearly chickened out, but after risking damaging the horse by carrying it around all day, Yuuri wanted a photo to show for all his effort.  Plus, he  _ had  _ told his Instagram followers he'd take some new outside photos now that Spring was finally here.  It had been a while, after all.  Everyone was probably tired of his indoor setups. 

After a certain incident, taking pictures of his horses outside where others could see him made Yuuri nervous.  Occasionally he forced himself to get over his worry for the sake of getting a good shot, though.  It helped when Phichit came along because he would deflect questions from random passersby.   He liked to use some story about how he and Yuuri were working on an art project for school.  Although the story absolutely wasn’t true, especially since Yuuri had already graduated, it worked.  It seemed to convince people that there was nothing out of the ordinary about a twenty something year old guy kneeling in the dirt and photographing a plastic horse.

Yuuri was alone today though, so he wanted to get the pictures over with as quickly as humanly possible before anyone had a chance to say so much as a peep to him.

~*~

Makkachin jogged along the path happily.  It was a beautiful day to be out in the park, so she had already received more than her fair share of head pats and compliments.  As such, she was feeling rather pleased with herself.  Viktor hummed as he walked with her and engaged in some good old fashioned people watching.  It was one of his favorite ways to occupy his time, and the park on a busy weekend afternoon was the perfect time for it.

Viktor saw high school kids awkwardly flirting with each other and moms gossiping beside the playground.  He observed babysitters who seemed far more engaged in taking selfies than watching their tiny charges.  Nearby, a group of teenage boys executed complex looking skateboard tricks.  Nothing really piqued his interest though, until his gaze happened to fall upon a tiny object.  It was a reddish brown model horse posed as if it was strolling along the shores of the small pond in the center of the park.  Someone crouched in front of it, most likely taking pictures.

Viktor’s heart skipped a beat.

_ Could it be….?  No, it can’t possibly be Yuuri.  I mean, what are the odds, right?  Get a hold of yourself, Viktor.  But what if… _

_ No.  Don’t be silly… _   
Viktor bit his lip and tried to force himself to keep on walking, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the person and the tiny little horse.  On the off chance it _ was _ Yuuri, he wasn't able to risk leaving.  Viktor found himself mentally shuffling through the horses he knew Yuuri owned, but he couldn’t quite place the one set up by the pond.  It seemed familiar, but he really wasn’t sure, especially since he could only see it from a distance.  Anyway, even though the Japanese model horse scene wasn't exactly hopping, there had to be at least a few other collectors around.

As Viktor struggled with the decision to approach the person or resume his walk, the person turned slightly in order to catch the model at a slightly different angle.   
Chunky glasses framed the man’s  big brown eyes, settled above pleasantly rounded cheeks.  He was totally engrossed in what he was doing, although his body language was tense.  The young man had his tongue sticking ever so slightly out of the corner of his mouth as he focused on the subject of his photos.

_ Yuuri?   _

_ Yuuri.   _

_ Yuuri!! _

Viktor’s knees went to jelly.  He would have said such a thing wasn’t possible, but Yuuri looked even more wonderful in person than he did online.  It took Viktor a moment to get over the shock of stumbling upon his crush in such a random way.   _ It’s like something straight out of a romance novel, running into him like this!   _ He squealed internally, already planning how he’d describe the moment to Chris.  

However, he froze for a moment as he contemplated what exactly he was supposed to do now.   _ DM him on Instagram and say that I can see him?  No, that’s a bit creepy.  Walk up and tap him on the shoulder?  That may be too surprising.   _ Viktor shook his head.   _ Don’t over think it.  He may be finishing up soon and you don’t want to miss him.  Just do it!  He’ll be excited to meet you too, so quit worrying!   _ Steeled from his mental pep talk, Viktor sucked in a deep breath.

“Yoooohoooooooo!!  Yuuuuuuuuri!!”  He hollered across to the young man beside pond.  He expected Yuuri to leap up eagerly, smiling broadly once he realized who was calling to him.  _  Maybe I'll even get a hug!   _ Viktor tried and failed to stop himself from blushing at the thought.

Instead of the reaction Viktor anticipated, Yuuri snapped his head around in the opposite direction. Then, he shoved his horse in his pocket at lightning speed as he stood up, and started to walk stiffly away.  He went down the path away from Viktor without so much as a glance in the other man’s direction.   
Viktor was left standing with his mouth agape as interested strangers stared at him after his loud, yet ignored, greeting.     
"Yuuri?"  

Viktor bit his lip, remaining stock still in the middle of the path.   _ What did I do wrong? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohohohoho
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Sorry for the slight delay! If any of you have been following my other ongoing fic (the T2 Yowapeda Equestrian AU), you'll know technical issues have been something of a theme for me. Well, I finally got a new computer (yay!) only to have it stop working for no reason in less than a week (boo! hiss!). So it had to be exchanged for a new one lol. Anyway, the new new computer is here and hopefully there won't be any more technological shenanigans, but hey, even if there are that's what extended warranties are for.
> 
> Comments absolutely make my day and I always appreciate constructive criticism to help me grow as a writer. So please be sure to tell me what you think! You can either do so in the comments section here, or my ask box/ messages on Tumblr are always open! You can find me at http://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/
> 
> Also, I'm thinking of making a twitter that I'd post stuff about my fics and such on, so if you like that idea let me know~ 
> 
> If anyone was wondering, my writing music this time around was the "Aim and Ignite" album by Fun! I love that one and it was great for getting my creative juices flowing~
> 
> Thank you so much for you patience in waiting for the new update, and thanks for reading!!! Once more, I have been absolutely delighted by the response to this fanfic and I appreciate all of your comments and kudos so very much. 
> 
> Keep on being amazing, everyone! See you next time <3


	5. In Which Chris Comes to the Rescue (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite Yuuri's sudden exit, Chris convinces Viktor to go after him anyway to try and talk even if it means running through the park. Will Viktor be successful or is their first meeting doomed to be a total bust?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello all :)  
> Welcome to Chapter 5! I'm excited to share this chapter with all of you and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, please be sure to check out the end notes for some information relating to this fic!
> 
> Enjoy and be sure to tell me what you think!!

“Chriiiiiiiisssssss I just saw Yuuri in the park and he ran away from meeeeee,” Viktor whined loudly into his phone.  He drew some stares from the other people out enjoying the nice weather by the pond.

“Wait, what?  Slow down.  You saw him in the park?  Did you guys plan to meet up or something?” Chris asked.  

“No, I saw him by chance,” Viktor sighed.  “But when I called his name, he jumped up and took off!  What did I do  _ wrong?   _ He  _ hates  _ me.”

“You’re completely sure it was Yuuri?  You didn’t just yell at some random guy, did you?”  

“One hundred percent sure!  No, one hundred and TEN percent sure!”  Viktor huffed.  “You really think I wouldn’t recognize Yuuri?  Of course I’d recognize Yuuri.”

“True, that was a stupid question.  I didn’t take into account the fact that you’ve been stalking him for a while now,” Chris snickered, and cut Viktor off as the other man started to protest. “Shush, you wanted my help, right?  Did he look at you before he ran away?”

“No, he never did.  As soon as he heard my voice he started walking away really really fast,” Viktor frowned as he pictured the scene.  As he imagined Yuuri leaving once more, he felt the cutting sensation of disappointment pass through him all over again.

“Okay, so he didn’t see you then.  Have you ever talked to Yuuri on the phone?”

“No, why would you-” Viktor started.

“Hang on!  Have you ever video chatted with him?” Chris interrupted.

“No, but what does that have to do with-” Viktor began again, only for Chris to interject a second time.

“ _Then how is he supposed to know what your voice sounds like!_ He probably thought some creep was just hollering at him for no reason!”  Chris yelled into the phone.

“Oh my God,” Viktor muttered and froze like a statue.

“No kidding!  Is he still in sight?  Or do you know what direction he went?”  Chris asked, sounding a touch frantic.

“Yeah, just barely!  He’s pretty far down the path, though.”

“Then  _ why  _ are you still talking to me?!  Go after him!  Don’t let your plastic horse boy get away!”  Chris screeched and Viktor had to pull his phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf.

“I’m on it!  You’re the best, Chris!” Viktor started to run, and Makkachin bounded along beside him, excited by the extra exercise.

“I know!  Tell me how it goes!  In  _ excruciating  _ detail!!”  Chris exclaimed  before Viktor hung up the phone.

Viktor charged up the path, dodging around the slower moving people in his way.  He looked a little crazy since his slacks and dress shoes made it clear that he wasn’t dressed to exercise, but he didn’t care.  All that mattered was catching up to Yuuri before he lost his chance.  

_ He doesn’t hate me!  Yuuri doesn’t hate me!   _ Viktor thought as he ran.   _ Thank goodness I called Chris right away, otherwise who knows what would have happened.   _

Yuuri still set a blazing pace as he walked, but since he was sprinting Viktor managed to reach him without too much trouble. When he was about twenty feet back, Viktor drew to a walk and attempted to collect himself before he talked to Yuuri. There wasn't much he could do about the fact that his cheeks were no doubt bright red from exertion, or that he was panting.  Still, he could at least run his fingers through his hair and wipe the sweat off his palms.  At least that way he’d only look like kind of a mess rather than an absolute trainwreck.

_ What if Chris is wrong and Yuuri does hate me for some reason?  Maybe he only talks to me online because he can't figure out a polite way to get out of it and he feels bad?  What if he really did see me and I just didn’t notice?  If that’s so, I chased down someone who doesn’t want to see me at all.   _ Viktor bit his lip and for a moment considered going back the way he came.  However, he gave his head a quick shake to dismiss the negative thoughts.   _ No, talk to him.  You’ll regret it if you don’t.  If he hates you, he hates you, but at least you'll know for sure.  _

Once he gave his hair one more fluff for good measure, Viktor jogged up and closed the distance between himself and Yuuri, doing his best to appear as nonchalant as possible.  The last thing Viktor wanted was to look like he'd just pursued Yuuri at a full sprint.  Granted, that was what had happened, but Yuuri didn't need to know that.

Trying to keep the shiver out of his slender fingers, Viktor extended his hand and tapped Yuuri on the shoulder from behind.  

“Yuuri?”  

Yuuri jumped about ten feet in the air and spun around, looking rather horrified.  Viktor wondered if he had made a terrible mistake by pursuing him.  But then, Yuuri’s face shifted to a shy, bashful expression.  It wasn't the look of excited recognition that Viktor had hoped for, but he'd take it.  At least Yuuri didn't look angry.

“I saw you by the pond with your horse, so I figured I’d come and say hello,” Viktor said in English and flashed a winning grin.  Now that he could see Yuuri most likely didn’t hate him, it was easy to settle into his usual bravado.  “It's me, Viktor from Instagram.  We've been talking about model horses.” A sudden look of understanding passed across Yuuri’s face.

“O-oh, that was you. Wow, um, I wasn’t expecting that. Sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you! When I heard someone call my name, I figured it must have been someone from work or something,” Yuuri giggled nervously and cracked a slight smile. Viktor felt his heart melt.  _ So cute!!! _

“I probably should have come over and introduced myself instead of yelling over to you, but in my defense I was a little excited,” Viktor said smoothly.  Eyes growing wide, Yuuri blushed and cast his gaze downward as he traced the toe of his shoe through the dirt.  Feeling the conversation beginning to lull when Yuuri didn’t reply right away, Viktor kept going.  “I knew we were both in Japan, but I never realized we were so close to each other.  I’m assuming you live in this area, too?”

“Yeah, uhm,  I do,”  Yuuri said, and immediately clammed up and avoided eye contact with Viktor. He was still sort of smiling, despite his even nervous demeanor, so Viktor knew he wasn’t completely striking out with him.  Still, he felt a bit out of his element due to Yuuri’s unease.  He scrambled,  _ I've got to try and get the conversation back on track.  Well, not that it had ever been on track to begin with, but whatever _ .  Before he had a chance to say anything, Yuuri’s eyes lit upon Makkachin and he knelt down in front of the dog.

“Your dog is so cute!  Can I pat her?”  Yuuri asked, beaming up at Viktor.

“Of course.  Her name is Makkachin.”   _ Makkachin saves the day,  _ Viktor thought as the dog wagged happily as Yuuri let her sniff his hand.  Deciding right away that Yuuri was of the friendly sort, she flipped onto her back for a belly rub.  She wriggled back and forth on the ground as Yuuri patted her.  

“I love dogs.  I had one when I was little.  Your dog reminds me of a bigger version of him,” Yuuri laughed, running his hands through her thick fur as Makkachin sat up to lick his face affectionately.  

“She really likes you, Yuuri.” In a moment of boldness, Viktor continued, “Say, there’s a café   nearby that allows dogs at their outdoor tables.  Would you like to join me for a coffee?  It seems like a shame not to chat a bit after running into each other like this.”

Yuuri looked shy and indecisive, and Viktor's heart dropped, certain that Yuuri would turn him down. Then Makkachin took advantage of Yuuri's lack of attention to tackle him down with her front paws and lick him more, wagging all the while.  Viktor's first instinct was to scold the poodle until he saw the smile on Yuuri's face.

“Uh, sure!  Why not?”  Yuuri chuckled as he tried to sit up in spite of Makkachin’s naughtiness.  

“Brilliant!”  Viktor grinned and extended a hand to pull Yuuri to his feet.   _ Thank you for being the best wingwoman a man could ask for, Makkachin. _

~*~

Yuuri couldn’t quite believe what was happening. One moment, he was trying to take pictures of his horse, the next he thought he was avoiding someone from work, and now he was going to a café  with Viktor for coffee.  All in about the space of five minutes.  He knew from their conversations and Viktor’s Instagram posts that Viktor was in Japan for work.  Even knowing that he had never assumed that the two of them lived in the same area.  It was kind of mind blowing. _How many times have we walked past each other or something and never knew it?_ He wondered.

Despite chatting with him online for the better part of a month, Yuuri felt intimidated by Viktor all over again.  He was right back at square one, except this was real life and Phichit wasn’t around to help him craft his responses.

_ Phichit… _

_ I could SOS text him and have him bail me out.  He could come up with a good reason for why I have to leave. Maybe he could even pretend to cry over speakerphone like he did that one time,  _ Yuuri mused, tempted to take advantage of Phichit's _ very _ convincing fake sobbing.  He dismissed the idea.   _ No. You’ve wanted a local hobby friend forever.  Don’t screw this up because you're awkward.   _

“... Yuuri?” Viktor's voice broke into his thoughts as he stared at the swirling patterns of the milk in his tea.

“Sorry!  What did you say?”  Yuuri reddened and mentally kicked himself in the shin for not paying more attention to the conversation.

“I was just asking you about your job.  You mentioned work, so I was curious about what you do, if you don't mind me asking of course,” Viktor smiled, looking patient much to Yuuri's surprise.  He had expected Viktor to be fed up with him and his lacking conversation already.

“Oh, er, it's nothing exciting really,” Yuuri rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.  “I just work at the circulation desk at the Library, so nothing half as cool as your job.  Being a model has got to be much more interesting,” Yuuri rambled.  Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered Phichit telling him not to be so self deprecating. He brushed the thought off and punctuated his sentence with a strangled sounding laugh.

A cloud seemed to pass across Viktor’s face for just a moment, but it quickly dispersed and his sunny demeanor returned.  “I suppose so,” Viktor drummed his slender fingers against the table, fingernails clicking on the wooden surface.  “I think working in a library sounds wonderful though.”

Yuuri struggled to think of something interesting to say about the library and drew a total blank.  His upper lip started sweating and he grew certain that Viktor felt bored talking to him.  He knew that the other man must have been thinking of a way to escape their stilted, muddled discussion, and Yuuri’s crummy conversational abilities.  Feeling panic set in, Yuuri wiggled in his seat.   _ I should probably think of an excuse to get out of here and put him out of his misery…  I’m sure he’s just being nice to me by staying.  It would have been nice to have a friend around here who collects horses, too.  But I guess I’ve gone and messed that up.   _ Yuuri put his hands on the edge of the table, ready to scoot his chair out and stand up to go. 

“Say, Yuuri,” Viktor asked, something like excitement creeping into his voice.  “Can I see the horse you were taking pictures of?  I didn't get a good look at him.”  

“Wait, really?”  Yuuri raised his eyes from his tea cup and met Viktor’s glittering blue eyes.

“Yes, of course!  Don't forget I collect them, too,” Viktor said, leaning forward across the table in interest.

“O-okay,” Yuuri stammered and fished the small horse out of his coat pocket where it had remained since his sudden escape.  As his fingers closed around the model he couldn't help but wince.  There were so many people around to see it….  On a cursory inspection there wasn't anyone he knew, but he didn't particularly like strangers seeing his horses either if he could help it.  

“It's okay if you don't want to take it out,” Viktor offered, but Yuuri was sure he sounded a little disappointed.

“No, it's fine,” Yuuri tried to hand the horse over as discreetly as possible.

“Wow!!  It's so small and cute!” Viktor gushed, voice loud.  He held the horse up to get a closer look at it.  “His mane is even  _ curly!   _ Amazing!”

Yuuri suppressed the urge to hide under the table when he saw some of the café ’s other patrons staring at Viktor and by extension, him.

“People are looking at the horse, Viktor,” Yuuri whispered to warn the other man of the attention he was getting.  Surely he was just as private about the hobby as Yuuri was…

“Is that bad?” Viktor chirped, still holding the horse in full view of everyone on the café ’s outside patio, not to mention the people strolling down the street.  “What's wrong with people looking?  They're probably just curious about it.”

“They must think it's weird, though,” Yuuri fretted and wrung his hands.

“If they do, then that's their problem.  Anyone who takes issue with someone's completely harmless hobby is a total stick in the mud and they aren't worth worrying over,” Viktor said, casting a reassuring smile at Yuuri and then continued inspecting the horse.  

“Oh,” was all Yuuri could manage to say.  He was totally surprised by Viktor’s words and impressed by his confidence.  Blinking, he watched as Viktor slipped Makkachin a piece of his muffin and considered what he just said.  Phichit had offered up similar advice before, but Yuuri had assumed he was just saying it to be nice.  Hearing it from another collector was kind of enlightening in a way.  It wouldn't be a magic cure for his anxiety about the hobby, but nonetheless it was a very welcome message..

“So Yuuri, this is a G1 Stablemate, right?  Can you tell me about him?” Yuuri’s gaze snapped upward to meet Viktor’s.  “I don't have any G1s in my collection yet, but I'd love to learn more about them.  I'm sure you know  _ so  _ much,”  Viktor leaned farther forward and extended the hand that held the horse, gesturing for Yuuri to take it from him.

Gingerly, Yuuri took the horse from the palm of Viktor’s hand.  For a second, their skin made contact and Yuuri jumped in his seat like he'd been shocked.  His fingers jerked upward away from Viktor’s hand, and his heart fluttered.  Forcing himself to take a breath, Yuuri's fingers seized upon the model horse at last, this time careful not to touch Viktor again.  The whole interaction must have encompassed less than a second, but it seemed like it took years to Yuuri.

The familiar feel of the model horse in his grasp have Yuuri enough confidence to meet Viktor’s eyes and give a tentative smile.  _  You can do it, Yuuri.  Just imagine you're telling Phichit about the horse.  Just a regular conversation.  Nothing scary. _

“This mold is by Maureen Love and  I completely adore her work,” Yuuri gushed, feeling a surge of confidence from Viktor’s positive reaction.  “Her sculpts not only are anatomically wonderful, but they have so much personality!  I mean look at this guy.  He's so tiny but he looks so  _ bright. _ ”

Viktor nodded his head with an abundance of eagerness, grinning the whole time.  He reminded Yuuri of one of those bobble head dogs that people put on their car dashboards.  

“I couldn't agree more, Yuuri,” Viktor bobbed his head again and paused to think.   “I really enjoy her racehorse series.”

“You do?” Yuuri couldn't help but gasp.  Any hesitation he experienced talking to Viktor disappeared in a flash.  “They're some of my favorites!  Especially her Man O’ War.  Does it get any more perfect than that?”

“Wow!  I love her Man O’ War, too!  Do you have any of them?”  Viktor asked.  “I don't yet.”

“Not to brag, but I have nearly a complete set of the originals with their picture boxes,” Yuuri couldn't keep the pride out of his voice.  “I'm only missing Terrang.”

“Wow!!  Amazing Yuuri!” Viktor clapped his hands together and flashed Yuuri a radiant smile.  “I'd love to see them sometime.”

“You could come over to my apartment Saturday to see my collection,” Yuuri blurted out, amazing himself in the process.  The offer was made in the heat of the moment since he was over excited about discussing Maureen Love’s horses with someone  _ in person.   _ He half regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, but Viktor’s delighted grin was enough to stop him before he could backtrack.  

“ _ Fantastic,  _ Yuuri!  I would  _ love  _ to!”

~*~

“He's soooo cuuuuuuute Chris!” Viktor yelled into his pillow when Chris answered his Skype call.  He sprawled out on his bed on his stomach with Makkachin curled beside him.

“I take it you were successful then?” Chris asked and Viktor nodded his head up and down so hard his bangs went askew. As he usually was when they Skyped, Chris sat at his kitchen table. “Good!  Now what do you say?”

“Huh?”

“‘Huh?’  What do you mean ‘huh?’ If I hadn't saved your ass in the park I can guarantee you you'd be sitting on your couch sulking with a pint of ice cream right now!” Chris scolded, indignant.

“Oh!  Right!  Chris thank you I love you you're the best friend a man could dream of and you have my eternal gratitude for ever and ever and ever,” Viktor said, galloping through his words in a rush.

“That's more like it,” Chris chided.  “Now spill.  You promised to tell me excruciating detail, no?”

“He agreed to get coffee with me, Chris!  I had coffee with  _ Yuuri!  _  Well he had tea, but still!  And he was sooo adorable and flustered when I made him let me pay for him since it was my idea and he was all blushy and sweet and aghhhh-” Viktor buried his face in his pillow again.  He popped back up again right away “Also, my  _ lord  _ you have no idea how many model horse facts I had to remember to seem convincing.  Like wow, I knew more than I thought I did.  I don’t even know where I got half of that stuff from on the spot like that.  But he's so  _ shy _ .” Viktor frowned.

“You already knew that, didn't you?” Chris asked.

“I mean, I guess.  But he'd kind of gotten over it online so I was just surprised,” Viktor shrugged.

“Okay, so don't take this the wrong way because you know I love you and I'm very similar to you in this way, but you can be… How do I put it?  You can be…  _ a lot, _ ” Chris explained.

“What do you mean?” Viktor asked in confusion.

“I mean that you can be a real handful sometimes-”

“ _ Rude _ !” Viktor scoffed.

“Hush! Look, I meant it in the nicest possible way.  You have a big personality.  If he's as shy as you say he is, you might have scared him a little at first.  He’ll get used to it over time so don't be discouraged,” Chris said.

“Hmmm.  That makes sense,” Viktor said, resting his chin in his hands.

“I'm glad.  So just try and take it slow and go at his pace so he doesn't get all freaked out or anything.  Maybe let him be the one to initiate making plans next time,” Chris advised and took a sip from the glass of water he had next to him on the table.

“Oh, he already did!  He invited me to his apartment Saturday” Viktor said and didn't even try to hide how pleased he was.  

Chris’s eyes went wide and he choked on his water.  

“Chris!  Are you okay?” Viktor fretted.  He wished they were talking in person so he could thump Chris on the back.

“He did  _ what  _ already?” Chris spluttered.

~*~

“Phichit, I'm home!” Yuuri called as he stepped into the apartment and placed his shoes on the mat.  Phichit scrambled into the front room looking both relieved and annoyed. 

“Yuuuuuuriiiii!  You're so late!  I was like,  _ this close _ to calling the police and telling them you went missing!” Phichit wailed, gesturing with his fingers to demonstrate.

“Sorry, I didn't realize I was that late…” Yuuri tried his best to sound apologetic but he was still buzzing about what just happened.

“An hour and twenty three minutes late!  You could have been hit by a bus or kidnapped or gotten robbed!  The least you could have done was  _ text me  _ so I didn't die of worry!” Phichit must have been feeling extra theatrical because he threw himself down on the sofa with a tremendous sigh.

“Don't you think you're being a little tiny bit dramatic?” Yuuri asked over his shoulder as he hung his coat up.

“No!” Phichit huffed.

“Would it help if I had a good reason?” Yuuri asked, trying to placate his friend.

“... maybe,” Phichit grumbled.

“I, uh, was at the coffee shop with  _ Viktor. _ ”

Phichit's expression went from shocked, to thrilled, to positively scandalized in the space of an instant.

“You planned meeting up with Viktor and you didn't even  _ tell  _ me about it?” Phichit cried.  Yuuri was somewhat certain that he saw tears welling in the corners of his large, dark eyes.  “Didn't you want my help?”

“Aw, Phichit.  Of  _ course  _ I would have wanted your help.  You know I always tell you everything.  I just ran into him in the park and invited me for coffee.  It was one hundred percent random and unplanned,” Yuuri assured his friend.  Phichit brightened up as soon as he realized he hadn't been excluded from any important planning.  He jumped off the couch and trotted up to Yuuri.

“Really?!!  Tell me all about it, Yuuri!  How did it go?!” Phichit grabbed Yuuri by the shoulders and gave him a gentle but insistent shake.

“I guess it must have been alright because he's kind of coming over on Saturday?”  Yuuri turned the statement to a question, still unsure how he felt about the idea.

Phichit’s opinion on the matter was obvious.  Before the words were out of Yuuri's mouth, Phichit squealed and tackled him onto the sofa like a linebacker.  

“Yuuri!!  I'm so  _ proud _ of youuu!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it! I had a lot of fun working on this one because I was really looking forward to writing their first IRL meeting. I hope it turned out well!  
> Anyway, I have some news! I'm on Twitter! You can find me @pennylanewrites  
> The account is relatively new (a week or two) so there's not very much on there yet, but in the future if enough readers of my fics follow it I want to post fun stuff like sneak peeks of new chapters and such. I wanted another way to interact with you guys so I think this will be good.  
> Also, I have gotten comments that people have been browsing the model horse part of Instagram because of this fic and that makes me really happy! Because of that, I figured I'd link to my model horse account so you guys can see if you want to. Yuuri's collection in this fic is loosely based on mine (though I have given him some horses I'm dying to own lol). So if you're interested in that, I'm on Instagram as @pennylanestables  
> As usual, constructive criticism is very welcome so please tell me what you think so I can improve as a writer! You can also reach me on tumblr at https://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/ if you wanna send me a message or tag me in something!  
> These notes are getting loooong so I'll wrap it up! I hope the next chapter will have a little bit of a faster turn around. This one was hindered by technological difficulties (remember how I had a new computer? Long story short I had to return it 3 times before I got a functional one lol) and midterms. So hopefully I can be a bit speedier next time.  
> Stay lovely, my friends <3 See you next time!


	6. Can You Not Be Extra?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor makes his much anticipated visit to Yuuri's apartment to see his model horse collection in person. Yuuri worries that Viktor will be bored, and Viktor (mostly) tries his best to follow Chris' advice and not be too "extra." Will their second in person meeting go well?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello hello friends! Chapter Six is here at last! I hope you have fun reading about Viktor's visit! Also, please be sure to let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy~ <3

“Yuuri I think the apartment was clean like an hour ago,” Phichit said as he watched his roommate wiping down the kitchen counters for what must have been the eighth or ninth time.

“I dunno…  it could be better,” Yuuri fretted as he worked.  “He’s going to be here soon so I want to make sure the place doesn’t look terrible.”

“Honestly it wasn’t even that bad before you started cleaning, Yuuri.  Both of us are pretty tidy people even when we don’t have company coming over.  Why don’t you relax and try to settle down for a minute before you go pick him up at the train station?” Phichit suggested.  Yuuri gave his head such an emphatic shake that he almost dislodged his glasses.

“There’s no time to relax.  He’s going to judge me if this place isn’t in tip-top shape,” Yuuri muttered, shoving his glasses back up onto his nose.  He turned his attention to the small kitchen table and made sure all the colorful place mats were aligned how he wanted them.

“Judge you?  How do you know that?  You’ve never been to his place so for all you know he’s a total slob with three weeks of dirty dishes piled in the sink or something.”

“He’s always so put together, Phichit.  You’ve seen his Instagram.  I doubt he’s like that,” Yuuri went down on all fours to inspect the kitchen floor.  _It looks okay, but maybe I should use the Swiffer on it one more time just in case…_

“He’s a model though, so isn’t it like his job to look put together?  Maybe he puts all his effort into himself and ignores housework,” Phichit suggested and Yuuri looked unconvinced.  “Really though, even if he is a neat freak or something that doesn’t mean he’s going to be a jerk and judge the apartment for not looking like something out of the pages of a home and garden magazine.  I imagine he cares more about hanging out with you and seeing your horses than he does about the three specks of dust that may be on the floor.”

“Dust on the floor?  Where?  I guess I do need to do the Swiffer again but I’m supposed to meet him soon,” Yuuri wailed, unable to keep a frantic edge out of his voice.

“I wasn’t serious about the dust, Yuuri!” Phichit waved his hands in placation as Yuuri heaved a sigh.  He pursed his lips as he helped Yuuri to his feet.  “Yuuri, do you need a hug?  ‘Cause you look like you need a hug.”

“…Yes.”

When Phichit flung his arms around his ribcage and rested his chin on his shoulder, Yuuri felt himself relax by degrees as he returned the hug. 

“Yuuri, it’ll be fine I _promise._   Viktor wants to hang out with you and see all your horses, otherwise he wouldn’t be coming.  From what you’ve said, he sounds really excited about seeing them.  I know he seems a little intimidating, but he clearly wants to be friends with you based on everything you’ve told me.  Anyway, Yuuri, you’re the nicest guy I know so anyone who doesn’t want to be your friend is crazy.”  Phichit carded one of his hands through Yuuri’s hair as he spoke. 

“Phichit, I think you’re exaggerating…” Yuuri mumbled into Phichit’s shoulder. 

“Oh hush, you!  Yuuri, you’re a delight and I’m gonna keep telling you that until you believe it,” Phichit scolded gently and gave Yuuri an extra squeeze. 

“Thanks, Phichit.  You’re the best,” Yuuri couldn’t help but smile a little despite his distress at Viktor’s imminent arrival.  _I really did luck out when I met Phichit, didn’t I?  God knows what I’d do without him, honestly._

“Aw, Yuuri!!  No, _you’re_ the best!” Phichit squealed and pressed his cheek to Yuuri’s while he laughed.  “Now, even though the apartment looks perfect, is there anything you want me to do to make it _extra_ perfect?”

“Um, if you could stack the magazines on the coffee table that would be wonderful,” Yuuri said after a moment of thought.  “I know I’m being kind of annoying about this, but I just want this, uh, _thing_ with Viktor to go well.”

“Don’t worry, Yuuri, I totally understand,” Phichit chirped, shuffling the magazines into a tidy pile on the corner of the table.  “I got you.”

“I guess I’m just worried he’s going to get bored or something,” Yuuri sighed.

“Hold up a second.  How could he, a plastic horse fan, be bored around _that many_ plastic horses?  Like Yuuri, when it comes to plastic horses, you’re like the ultimate cool kid.  If this was a plastic horse school, you’d be class president or something!” Phichit punctuated his words by pointing a rolled up magazine at Yuuri.

“Once again, Phichit, I’m _pretty sure_ you’re exaggerating.”

“Am _not_!” He stuck his tongue out, but before Yuuri could come up with a suitable reply, his phone jangled with the sound of an incoming text.

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Viktor**

**The train is two stops away~  (** **ﾉ** **◕** **ヮ** **◕)** **ﾉ** ***:** **・ﾟ** **✧**

“Oh no,” Yuuri pinched the bridge of his nose and sucked in a deep breath.

“Ooooooo, is he almost here?”

Yuuri just nodded, feeling rather unable to assemble a coherent sentence.

“Do you want me to come with you to come get him?” Phichit asked.  “Or would you rather have me stay and keep tidying up?”

“Tidying up would be good,” Yuuri decided.  “I’ll be okay.  I think.  Hopefully.  Maybe?”

“Think positive Yuuri!  You guys are gonna have a great time!”

“Gosh, I hope so,” Yuuri did his best to pull a smile for Phichit as he slipped on his shoes to leave the apartment and go fetch Viktor.

“If you feel unconfident, just remember that you’re the ultimate plastic horse cool guy!”

“Thanks, Phichit,” Yuuri replied. Granted, he was pretty sure he’d never heard ‘plastic horse’ and ‘cool guy’ in the same sentence before this conversation.  It did help, though. Phichit always knew how to cheer him up.

~*~

The little old lady sitting next to Viktor cast him a disapproving look as he jiggled his knee at an ever increasing speed.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri**

**Ok!  I’ll be there in a minute.  I’ll meet you under the sign if that’s alright.**

Viktor resisted the temptation to hug his phone to his chest and actually type out a reply.

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Viktor**

**Sounds perfect to me!  See you soon~**

He cursed the fact that Chris had just _abandoned him._ Well, to be more accurate, Chris had said he needed to stop texting for a while. The makeup artist had finished working on him and he needed to go and do his photoshoot. Viktor was happy for Chris because it was for a big advertising campaign with a large cologne company so it would be a real boost for his career. Plus Chris was the perfect fit for the job. Then again, Viktor still felt pouty since he wanted nothing more than to fire off another stream of panicky yet excited text messages to Chris. _Abandoning me in my time of need..._ Viktor scoffed to himself.

Viktor switched from jiggling his knee to tapping his foot.  It was an even more annoying way to expend his nervous energy, but he had more important things to consider.  Like the fact that he was currently just one train stop away from meeting up with Yuuri and _going to his apartment._ Just a short while ago, his crush on Yuuri felt almost impossible because of the unknown distance between them.  But now here he was on the subway, mere minutes away from their second “real life” meeting.

_How did I get this lucky?_ Viktor raised his hands to his face to hide his fierce blush.  He blanched a little when he considered the way that his tenuous grasp of model horse knowledge was about to be tested, however.  _Will I be able to keep up with him?  Or will it be obvious that I have no idea what the hell I’m doing and he’ll know I’m a faker?_

The night before, Viktor spent the evening brushing up on model horse terminology thanks to a very helpful beginner’s glossary he’d stumbled across.  He’d even made _flash cards,_ for God’s sakes.  He couldn’t be doing something like fudging the definition of “chalky” or mixing up “Stablemates Scale” horses with “Little Bits Scale” horses or something awful like that.  Acronyms like “PAS,” “LSQ,” and “FAM” galloped through his head. 

_“PAS?” Was that one “Pretty Arabian Stallion?” or “Proud Arabian Stallion?”_ _I think it was “Proud”…_ _Geez, I should have brought my flash cards so I could practice on the train,_ Viktor agonized. There was so much to remember it was totally overwhelming. It just made Yuuri’s encyclopedic knowledge that much more impressive. Of course, Yuuri was an experienced collector, and Viktor was just a newbie, and a fake newbie at that. Still, it made Viktor feel like he was under an awful lot of pressure. At least he could play some stuff off as just being new to the hobby. That didn’t mean Viktor was okay with seeming like a total hack, especially not if impressing Yuuri was the objective, though.

Viktor was so involved in his thoughts he practically missed his stop. The sound of the doors whooshing closed startled him out of his reverie, and he snapped his head up in a panic. Thanks to his long legs he managed to bound through with a yelp before they shut completely, though the door threatened to catch his scarf.

“Hoo, boy. That was cutting it close,” Viktor muttered to himself. He swept a hand through his now messy hair and adjusted his scarf before he went to find Yuuri and whatever sign they were supposed to meet under. _What sign did Yuuri mean? Is it outside of the station?_ Viktor realized he probably should have asked for more specifics, but oh well. Too late now. _At least Yuuri didn’t see that spectacle with the door._ _How embarrassing_ that _would be…_

 “Uhm, hi Viktor!  Over here!” a tentative voice called out and Viktor whirled to face the speaker. 

Yuuri stood nearby, beyond the ticket gates and waved a hand in greeting.  He looked just as nervous as Viktor felt.  _Wait, if Yuuri’s right here then that means he saw me almost miss my stop.  Oh_ God.  _Be cool, Viktor.  Pretend it never happened.  You are suave and in control and nothing can stop you from winning this boy’s heart._

“Yuuri! Hello!” Viktor exclaimed and trotted through the gate once the automatic barrier retracted. He hovered in momentary indecision. His natural inclination was to hug people when greeting them because he was _totally_ a hugger, but this was _Yuuri._ He usually didn’t deal with people who were as shy as Yuuri.  In his head, Viktor ran through all the times Yuuri had jumped away from his touch at their last meeting. Viktor mostly spent his time with other models and they tended to be as outgoing as he was. Yuuri definitely wasn’t a cool, composed, self-assured model, though. That said, he was sweet and cute and very much Viktor’s type, so the last thing Viktor wanted was to scare Yuuri off just because he wanted a hug. _Be cool, Viktor,_ he reminded himself once more. “Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

 “Oh, it’s, uh, no problem,” Yuuri offered up a shy smile that made Viktor’s heart melt.  _Cuuuuute!!_

The pair trotted upstairs and out of the station and Viktor got his first look at Yuuri’s street.  It bustled with activity from its many small shops and cafes.  The sidewalk was dotted with small trees that added a burst of color to the neighborhood since they had just bloomed into beautiful flowers.  Viktor’s mouth spread into a grin as he observed the scene.  As far as he was concerned, it was the perfect kind of neighborhood to live in.  He liked it much better than his own street, even if he did live in what was considered a more upscale part of the city.  Upscale or no, it undoubtedly lacked the charm of Yuuri’s street.

“What a nice area!  I bet this is a great place to live with all the little cafes and such,” Viktor smiled, reaching up to brush some pale pink cherry blossoms with his fingertips as they passed by a tree with some low hanging branches.

“It is a nice place to live,” Yuuri agreed.  “Phichit and I were lucky to be able to get an apartment here, especially at the price we did.  I guess it’s kind of an up and coming neighborhood or something.”

“I can see why!” Viktor enthused.  He did his best not to be distracted by the very small margin of space between himself and Yuuri.  Their arms were almost touching as they strolled down the sidewalk side by side.  Yuuri’s hand was right there, and Viktor couldn’t help but let his imagination run rampant as he thought about holding hands with him.  If he was so inclined, it would be all too easy just to reach out and grasp his fingers.  _I bet Yuuri is great to hold hands with.  His hands look so nice and warm and I bet he’s not the kind of person who feels like they need to move their fingers around constantly when you hold hands._   _Heck, he probably even knows instinctively when to do that little hand holding finger squeeze thing.  You can just tell. He’s gotta be really good at it._

“Viktor?”

“Hmm?” Viktor turned, jolted out of his daydream by Yuuri’s voice.

“I was just saying that my building is the one right up there.  Unfortunately, uh, one of the reasons that Phichit and I could afford this neighborhood is that our place has no elevator and it’s a fourth-floor walkup,” Yuuri fiddled with the zipper pull of his jacket as he spoke.  “I guess it’s pretty inconvenient…”

“No worries at all.  Fourth-floor walkup isn’t so bad,” Viktor tried to put Yuuri at ease.  “I knew a girl in college who lived in a _seventh-floor_ walkup.  Now that was kind of beastly.”  He laughed.

“I can imagine,” Yuuri gave a genuine smile and Viktor congratulated himself on a small victory.  “I mean, at least having a walkup is decent exercise.” He giggled and Viktor made a conscious effort not to blush as Yuuri unlocked the door and let him into the building. 

“Oh, I bet.  It must be good for the legs, no?  Because you have great legs,” Viktor blurted out before he could stop himself.  He was nearly overwhelmed by the desire to give himself a good, hard kick in the shins.  _Dummy!  Don’t just say stuff like that!_

“Oh. Uh, thank… you?” Yuuri went beet red in short order and hustled up the stairs. Viktor followed behind and tried not to dwell on his present very high level of self-loathing.

To his chagrin, Viktor found himself a little winded by the climb. Or perhaps it was a side effect of his embarrassment over randomly complimenting Yuuri's legs out of the blue like that. _I should make better use of my gym membership._ _I guess walking Makkachin isn’t as much exercise as I thought. Or, like, stop frightening Yuuri. That's good, too. But he is_ really _cute when he blushes. Unfairly cute, even._

 “Phichit, we’re home,” Yuuri called as he opened the door to his apartment, but not before taking a second to compose himself.

“Welcome back,” Came the sing song reply before a young man about Yuuri’s age, or perhaps younger, appeared and draped himself over Yuuri’s shoulders. Yuuri rested his hand on Phichit’s arm in a relaxed way that told Viktor this wasn’t out of the usual. “Hiya, I’m Phichit!” He flashed a toothy grin. “I’m Yuuri’s roommate, but you already probably knew that from Instagram, huh? Also, I mean, if I wasn’t Yuuri’s roomie why else would I be here?”

 “Oh, yes. Yuuri has talked about you a lot.  I’m Viktor,” Viktor smiled back, but his mind was whirling.  The casual physical contact between the two of them made him wonder if they were _dating_.  It certainly seemed like they were, anyway.  If they were, that pretty much ruined his chances with Yuuri.  No matter how infatuated with Yuuri Viktor was, he didn’t think he could stoop low enough to try and break up a loving relationship.

“Before you ask, since _everyone_ always does, we’re not a couple, just BFFs,” Phichit gave another dazzling smile and Viktor wondered if he could read minds.  “It’s just that I’m a naturally touchy feely person.  I’m _very_ affectionate.”  He nuzzled against Yuuri’s cheek as if to prove his point.  Viktor didn’t think he’d ever felt so relieved in his whole life.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the understatement of the century, Phichit.  I don’t think ‘very’ quite captures the experience,” Yuuri chuckled and patted Phichit on the top of the head.  Phichit giggled in response and gave Yuuri a peck on the cheek.

The whole interaction told Viktor that Yuuri could be okay with physical affection, at least with someone he knew well.  Viktor filed that fact away for later.  With any luck, that meant Yuuri’s tendency to jump away whenever he made contact with Viktor was just because they weren’t close.  _Yet,_ Viktor added to himself.  _Just listen to Chris’ advice and don’t go scaring him off or something and it will all be fine._ He thought back to Chris’ last piece of advice before he had to go work “ _Have fun with your Plastic Horse Boy.  Just don’t be so extra that you make him run for the hills, will you?_ ”

With the whole “OMG does Yuuri already have a boyfriend?!” scare out of the way, Viktor allowed himself to take a look around the front room of the apartment. For two twenty-something year old guys, it was very clean. Viktor appreciated the tidiness of the apartment since he, too, kept a neat home.

However, Phichit and Yuuri’s apartment was different from his own in that it actually looked like people lived in it. Just from the living room, Viktor could tell a lot about its occupants. Someone lived here who loved horses judging by the pictures on the walls and a few stray models prancing across shelves. Someone else must have liked hamsters and other cute animals. There the big poster hanging near the door featuring a hamster clinging to a branch with the caption “Hang in There!” printed along the bottom along with other adorable knick knacks. A video game console was plugged into the TV, accompanied by two controllers and a stack of games. There was an assortment board games stowed on a nearby shelf, just ready for someone to play them.  The apartment was dominated by bright colors which, although they didn’t all match perfectly, made the space seem cheerful and bright.

By comparison, Viktor’s place looked downright sterile.  Thinking about it, he realized that if someone just walked into his apartment there were no clues to who he was.  All someone would be able to tell would be that someone lived there who apparently owned a dog and appreciated a minimalist lifestyle.  Maybe they’d be able to guess he liked a cool color palate?  Did that even count as personal information?  Well, there was something.  The shelf containing his model horse collection was the only touch of personality in the apartment.  But that wasn’t even real.  He didn’t own them because he loved them, like Yuuri, he just had them to impress a boy.  Viktor bit his lip.

“So you probably want to see the horses, right?”  Yuuri asked, smiling.  He seemed more confident now that his roommate was with him.   Viktor thanked God that the leg compliment issue seemed forgotten.

“Of course!  I’m so excited to see your set of Marjory Love horses,” Viktor beamed at Yuuri, only for Yuuri to blink at him in confusion and cock an eyebrow.  “You know, the race horses!”  Viktor scrambled.  _Haven’t we talked about those?  I thought he liked that sculptor…_

“Oh!  You mean Maureen Love!  You did mention that you wanted to see those.  They’re some of my favorites, too, so I’m more than happy to show them off,” Yuuri smiled, seeming unfazed by Viktor’s mistake.

“Of course, _Maureen_ Love. That’s who I meant. Clearly. I don’t know where my mind is today,” Viktor waved his hand and laughed, hoping it didn’t sound as fake as he thought it must. _Shoot!_ _Get your head in the game, Viktor!_ _A rookie mistake like that will blow your cover in no time._ _I mean, I_ am _a rookie, but still!_ _This is the big time so don’t screw it up!_ Granted, Yuuri didn’t seem bothered, but if little slip ups like that happened more often it could become obvious he was faking.

 “Enjoy your horses, guys!  I’m a day late updating my hamster blog so I need to get that posted,” Phichit said, and disentangled himself from Yuuri.

“Okay, have fun!” Yuuri said cheerfully and turned back to Viktor. An abrupt look of realization crossed his face and he spun back to face Phichit again. “Wait, don’t you have a paper you’re supposed to be writing?”

“Maaaaybe?”

“Phichit,” Yuuri warned, looking surprisingly stern.

“Don’t worry, I’ll finish in time!  I have all weekend.  You’re such a mom, Yuuri,” Phichit teased as he walked out of the room.

“You better!”  Yuuri scolded, and then returned his attention to Viktor with a softer expression. “My room is this way.”

“Fantastic,” Viktor followed Yuuri to one of the doors leading out of the living room and tried to hide the fact that he was on the verge of doing back flips.  _Yuuri’s room!  I get to see Yuuri’s room!  Of course, I saw a little of it in his Instagram live stream, but still!  Yuuri’s room!  In PERSON!  What did I ever do to get this lucky?_

“Here it is!” Yuuri said as he opened the door and gestured for Viktor to enter the room.  Once he was past the threshold, Viktor’s mouth dropped open as he stared at the shelves that occupied most of the wall space.  “I mean, it isn’t the biggest or most amazing collection in the world, but I really like it,” Yuuri sounded shy again, and he rubbed a hand along the back of his neck when Viktor whirled to face him.

“What do you mean, Yuuri?  It’s _wonderful!_ Just look at all of them!  There are so many and they’re so beautiful,” Viktor exclaimed, turning around so he could see the whole room again.  His model horse collector persona may have been a ruse, but his awe at the horses wasn’t.  Yuuri’s collection really was a sight to see.  Somehow the snapshots posted on Instagram hadn’t fully captured how remarkable it was. 

“You don’t need to exaggerate, it’s okay,” Yuuri blushed.  “I know there are other collectors with much better collections than I have.”

“No no no, Yuuri!  I’m not exaggerating at all.  I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Viktor appeased.

“Really?”

“Yes, really!  I just have the one shelf and you have this whole room.  Anyone looking at them could see how much time and care you’ve put into this, Yuuri.  It’s really outstanding,” Viktor stared up at the shelves and ran his fingers along the edge.  “The dedication you have for this is inspiring.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.  It’s just model horses.”

“No, I don’t think they’re ‘just model horses.’ I admire when people find something that they’re passionate about and throw themselves into it. If more people did that, I think everyone would be a lot happier,” Viktor said, adding to himself _Honestly, I wish I could be like that about something. You’re lucky, Yuuri._

 “O-oh…” Yuuri’s blush deepened until his cheeks were bright red.

“Now how about you give me a collection tour?  I’d love to get a better look at these beauties,” Viktor smiled and sat down on Yuuri’s bed.  He had to contain his own blush when he realized he was _sitting on Yuuri’s bed, holy cow,_ but gave Yuuri a reassuring smile.

“For sure! Where to start? How about the beginning?” Yuuri said, almost like he was talking to himself until he picked a horse from a shelf.  “Okay, this is my Pluto model. He was one of my very first horses. His name is Silver. Totally unoriginal, I know, but I was like eight when I got him.  My uncle found him at a thrift store in Kentucky while he was traveling in the United States for business. All of my original horses came from my uncle,” Yuuri passed Viktor a slightly beat up white and grey model. “I was lucky that my uncle realized I liked them so much and kept bringing them back to me whenever he returned to Japan.  Originally, he was getting them for my sister Mari, but I was a lot more into them than she was.”

 “That’s great, Yuuri!  I can tell this horse must have been one of your favorites,” Viktor smiled at the scratched-up horse before handing it back.

“He still is, honestly.  I love him,” Yuuri gazed at the model with affection as he took the horse back and replaced it on the shelf.  “Now who do you want to see next?”

“Oooo, how about that one?  With the spots!”  Viktor pointed at a horse on the top shelf.  He was so excited he forgot that the correct term was “appaloosa,” but neither he nor Yuuri even noticed.

“Good eye!  That model is called ‘Flabbehoppen’ and she’s from the 1997 West Coast Jamboree.  She’s kind of rare, actually,” Yuuri explained with obvious pride.  “It took me a while to track her down.  And to this day I have no idea how to correctly pronounce her name.”

“How did you find her?”  Viktor settled back against the wall.  He decided that he could happily listen to Yuuri talk about his horses for as long as Yuuri had things to say.  His excitement was contagious, and Viktor felt a warm glow spread through his chest as Yuuri described hunting the model down on a website called Model Horse Sales Pages after getting outbid on eBay numerous times.

Before long, Yuuri joined Viktor sitting on the bed as he showed off his horses and told the stories of how they joined his collection.  Viktor masked his reaction, but he was absolutely thrilled.  It was a small gesture, but to Viktor it was a visible sign of the progress he was making with Yuuri.

“Ah, you must be getting bored listening to me monologue about these guys,” Yuuri laughed awkwardly after showing Viktor his Maureen Love race horses.

“No, absolutely not!  I’m having a great time,” Viktor protested.  Yuuri seemed rather unconvinced.   “I _promise_ I’ll tell you if I get bored, okay?”

“Okay,” Yuuri’s cheeks pinkened.  “Who would you like to see next?”

The two of them continued to work their way through Yuuri’s collection.  The longer they spent together, the more at ease Yuuri seemed.  Soon he and Viktor were laughing at what seemed like the beginnings of inside jokes.  Yuuri got up every once in a while to retrieve a horse, but Viktor wondered if he imaged Yuuri moving closer each time he returned to the bed.  Once their shoulders brushed, Viktor knew it wasn’t all in his head.  He resisted the urge to squirm in excitement.

“You can pick the next horse, Viktor,” Yuuri said and gestured to the shelves. 

“Like, you want me to take it off the shelf?” 

“Sure, I trust you,” Yuuri explained and Viktor felt radiantly happy.  _Yuuri trusts me!_

“How about this guy?” Viktor asked, standing up to take a prancing black model off the book shelf before he sat back down.  “Aww, what happened to him?”  Viktor frowned, pointing to a somewhat clumsy attempt at a prosthetic model horse leg.

“That’s my Black Stallion model.  He, uh, fell.  A long time ago.  I never did manage to find his leg,” Yuuri accepted the horse when Viktor offered it to him.  He worried his lip with his teeth as he stared down at the horse in his lap.  Viktor hesitated when he realized Yuuri’s whole demeanor had changed in an instant.  Compared to how he had been a second ago, Yuuri seemed pensive and a little nervous.  “I, uhm, could do a better job repairing him now.  I did that in Middle School.”

“Looks like you did a pretty good job to me.  Middle school Yuuri probably did a better job than I could do right now,” Viktor said in his most cheerful voice, trying to lighten the mood again.  Instead of replying, Yuuri just nodded.  Viktor bumped his shoulder against Yuuri’s in a way he hoped was encouraging.  “If you aren’t happy with it, though, why don’t you do it over?”  
“Maybe some day I will,” Yuuri said before hopping up off the bed and replacing the Black Stallion on the shelf with haste. He seemed to realize that he’d made the mood shift because he smiled, though it seemed somewhat forced, when he turned back around. “Say, would you like a snack before we get back to the tour? Phichit and I made cookies last night and they turned out pretty well.”

 “I’d love one,” Viktor grinned back.  “I’m sure they’re delicious.”

As he followed Yuuri out of the room, he cast a glance back at the Black Stallion model.  _I wonder what it is about that horse that made Yuuri react like that?  Is he just sad that it’s broken?_ Viktor couldn’t help but think that there was more to the story.  _Usually I’m good at reading people, but Yuuri remains a bit of a mystery.  I’ll figure him out, though.  He’s a mystery worth solving for sure._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! It wound up being a little bit longer than usual, but I was having such fun writing about Viktor's visit I couldn't help myself! Sorry for the large-ish gap between updates! Between finals, the beginning of the horse show season, and my family doing a super crazy spring cleaning, I've barely had a second to catch my breath! But the semester is over now so I'm gonna aim for bi-weekly updates from here on out! Also, do you all like this Friday evening update, or do you like the usual Saturday morning time? Chime in and tell me what you think!
> 
> Please be sure to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Seeing comments in my inbox literally makes my entire day <3 Also, constructive criticism is welcome as always so I can learn and grow as a writer! 
> 
> If you want to be tuned into updates on how chapters are going and my general shenanigans, please find me on Twitter @pennylanewrites ! I'm also on Tumblr @haircut-named-arthur and I post updates and stuff there as well. Also, if you're curious about my own model horse collection, my model horse Instagram is @pennylanestables !
> 
> Thank you all so very much for your support and for reading this story! I've been having such fun working on this story and sharing it with all of you. I appreciate each one of you so much!! Until next update, everyone <3


	7. Does This Sweater Make My Collar Bone Look Cute?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Phichit decide to let Viktor join in on a fun tradition that they share. Meanwhile, Viktor wonders (or perhaps "agonizes over" would be more accurate) what he should wear to such an event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! This chapter was quite fun for me to write and I'm so very excited to share it with all of you! 
> 
> Enjoy! And be sure to tell me what you think~

Yuuri scrolled through his phone as he munched his sandwich in the library’s break room. He cruised through the recently updated threads on the Model Horse Blab forum to see if he’d missed anything since he last logged on early that morning. _Not much has happened on here today,_ Yuuri thought with a small frown. Barely any new threads had been posted, and the few that had were not of particular interest to him. _How long can we all beat the topic of the Breyer Premier Club to death this week?_ He wondered, leafing through the topics.

There were only about ten minutes left in his break, but he was already done perusing Instagram. As such, he’d have liked to spend the remaining time browsing through an interesting discussion before going back to the circulation desk. Bored of the same old complaints about the club, he turned his attention to Facebook. _Nothing much here either,_ Yuuri pursed his lips. Then his eyes lit up when he noticed a post in one of his favorite model horse groups.

_“Heads up, everyone!  There will be a Spares Night happening this Sunday at the usual time (7:30pm GMT).  Be sure to log into the forum if you want a chance at picking up any horses or stable pets.  There should be a good amount of tack this time around as well.  See you then.  Best, L.”_

“Yes!” Yuuri said out loud in spite of himself and punched the air. It was lucky that he was alone in the break room, otherwise he would have had some explaining to do.  As much as he loved the ladies he worked with, Yuuri still hadn’t let them in on his secret hobby, nor did he plan to any time in the near future.

 Unable to keep the news to himself in his excitement, Yuuri fired off a text to Phichit as fast as his fingers would allow.

**To: Phichit**

**From: Yuuri**

**Guess what’s in two days?!**

As usual, Yuuri didn’t need to wait long for Phichit’s text to pop up on his screen despite the fact he was quite sure Phichit was in lecture.

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Phichit**

**I bet I know but tell me anyway plz**

**To: Phichit**

**From: Yuuri**

**SPARES NIGHT**

After a few moments, the text pinged in.  Several more showed up in rapid succession afterwards. 

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Phichit**

**ヽ** **(^O^)** **ノ** **YAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSS!!!!!!  I knew it!!**

**shoot the prof is looking at me so i gotta go but you can bet i will be planning what snacks we can get.**

**ALSO is viktor still coming over today?**

Yuuri replied in the affirmative and chided Phichit for texting in class. Before returning to work, he commented on the Facebook post in the group. Even though it hadn’t been up for long, there was already a stream of eager comments.  Yuuri typed "I'll be logged in and ready on Sunday!" before he put away his lunch box and went back out to the desk.

The library was quite busy for a Friday afternoon and there was no shortage of people looking to check out books. It was a fairly small library, so most of the patrons were regulars. Yuuri liked it that way, though. Since he knew so many of the library’s visitors, he could memorize their taste in books and give them good recommendations for new material. Plus, he liked to chat with them while he scanned their choices.

As a result, Yuuri was ridiculously tuned into the neighborhood’s news and gossip. Although he himself wasn’t gossipy, he’d have been a liar if he said it wasn’t interesting to hear what was going on in the community. Anyway, Phichit was always eager for the latest scoop when Yuuri got home from work. "It's better than a soap opera!" Phichit had crowed on more than one occasion, and on most days Yuuri had to agree.

“You know, they say Ritsuko and her fiancé aren’t just on vacation in Paris. Yumi heard that they’re _eloping,_ ” Mrs. Kawana told Yuuri in a conspiratorial whisper as she passed him her stack of romance novels and magazines for the week. Her preference for extra steamy bodice-ripper romances had once struck Yuuri as out of character with her soccer mom persona. As time passed and he saw her love of scandal, it seemed more in keeping with her personality, though.

“You don’t say!” Yuuri remarked. He was careful not to make it seem like he had an opinion on the subject either way and filed away the information to tell Phichit that evening.

~*~

The rest of the work day passed unusually slowly.  Yuuri wasn’t sure if it was because all anyone in the library could talk about was Ritsuko’s apparent elopement (which, though interesting, was getting old by the sixth time he heard it), or because he was eager to get home since Viktor was coming over that evening.  Yuuri needed to show him could how to repair a broken model.  Makkachin had knocked one of Viktor’s horses, thankfully not Hatatitla, from his coffee table with her tail and busted off its foreleg below the knee.  Viktor had been lucky enough to find the piece so it would just be a matter of simple reattachment. 

Yuuri didn’t think he’d ever walked home faster.  Not only was he eager to see Viktor, he wanted to make sure he beat him to the apartment.  Phichit would definitely be home from class, and the last thing Yuuri needed was Phichit playing matchmaker.  He’d only do it with the very best of intentions, but the thought of Phichit trying to set him up with Viktor made embarrassment swell in Yuuri’s chest.  The only way to prevent that scenario was to make it to the apartment before Viktor did. 

Yuuri hadn’t directly told Phichit he was into Viktor, but he _knew_ Phichit knew.  Phichit knew Yuuri so well that he couldn’t hide things from Phichit even if he wanted to.  Although Phichit seemed very optimistic that Yuuri’s crush on Viktor would be requited, Yuuri wasn’t half as confident.  It was lucky enough that Viktor liked him as a friend.  Given the fact that Viktor was an international success as a male model, Yuuri didn’t think he had a chance of anything more than that.  _No doubt Viktor must be constantly peeling beautiful people off himself.  He can have_ anyone, _so why would he want me?_ In a weird way, Yuuri wasn’t as bothered by the thought as much as he figured he ought to be.  Then again, since he could spend time with Viktor in any capacity, things couldn’t be so bad.  _There’s no way Viktor feels the same way, so if he knew how I think of him it would only make things awkward and he wouldn’t want to be friends any longer._

Jogging up the stairs to the apartment Yuuri winced when he saw a pair of Viktor’s usual dress shoes out on the landing placed tidily beside the doormat.  He winced again when he heard Phichit’s voice through the door.

“And how _cute_ is this photo?  Like ridiculously adorable, right?”  Phichit said and Yuuri had a bad feeling it was probably a photo of him.  Most likely a photo he had no idea Phichit had even taken.  _Shoot._ The odds were better than average that he was doing something like sleeping in the photo.  Or eating.  Yuuri cringed.  Phichit liked to sneak photos of Yuuri while he was eating, and he always insisted that they looked cute.  However, Yuuri couldn’t say he agreed.

“So cute!” He heard Viktor reply.  Yuuri sucked in a deep breath.  _Open the door, Yuuri.  The faster you open the door, the less photos Phichit can show._ Wait.  _If that_ is _a picture of me, then Viktor called it cute.  My god.  What if he’s just being nice…? He’s just being nice, obviously.  Don’t get ahead of yourself, Yuuri._ He gave his head a vigorous shake and forced himself to enter the apartment at last.

“I’m home!” He hollered, perhaps a bit louder than he should have.

“Welcome back!  What kept you?  You’re a little later than usual,” Phichit observed.

“A little old lady was feeling very talkative when I scanned her books so it held me up from leaving when I planned to.  Hi, Viktor,” Yuuri smiled in what he hoped was a natural way as he hung his jacket on a hook and joined Viktor and Phichit in the living room. 

“Hello, Yuuri.  Sorry I was a little early!  The train came faster than I expected it to.  Phichit was just showing me some _adorable_ pictures of his hamsters,” Viktor flashed a grin.

Yuuri was equal parts relieved and disappointed. On one hand, thank goodness Phichit hadn’t started some nutty matchmaking scheme, but on the other, that meant Viktor had been calling a hamster cute. Not Yuuri. _Even if he did call a picture of me cute, that wouldn’t necessarily have meant anything._ _Viktor calls loads of things cute…_

 “So I hear you’ve got a horse with a busted leg?”  Yuuri asked, changing the subject before he could dwell on it any longer.

Viktor nodded and fished a small model and an even smaller detached leg out of his pocket.  “He didn’t stand a chance against Makkachin’s tail.  I guess I learned my lesson about leaving models on the coffee table,” Viktor frowned.  He looked a little sad as he prodded the empty space where the leg used to be.  “What do we do?  Super glue it?”

“Nope!  Super glue actually doesn’t work very well on the type of plastic Breyer horses are made from,” Yuuri explained, taking the horse from Viktor’s hand to get a closer look.

“Then how are you supposed to fix it if you can’t use glue?” Viktor asked. He looked quizzical as Yuuri went into the bathroom and started rooting about in the medicine cabinet.

 “This is actually a pretty neat trick.  I’ve seen him do it before,” Phichit supplied.  “I thought he was fibbing the first time he told me this is how he fixes broken pieces, but it really works.”

“Acetone,” Yuuri said, holding up a bottle as he returned, Q-tips in hand. 

“Like nail polish remover?” Viktor asked, looking puzzled.

“Mhmm.  Except this is one hundred percent pure acetone so it’s a bit stronger,” Yuuri said as he dipped a Q-tip into the bottle and carefully wiped it along the break.  “You need to careful, though, since this also strips the paint.” 

With an expression of intent focus, Yuuri stuck the tip out of the side of his mouth. He lined up the broken piece with the horse’s body with great care and pressed them together. If they didn't line up exactly, the two pieces wouldn't have a good, lasting bond. After a minute or so, Yuuri set the horse back down on the table and it stood rock solid with all its legs where they ought to be.

 “He’ll need a bit of a paint touch up, but otherwise he’s good as new.  I can do that for you once he’s had a little longer to set,” Yuuri remarked in a cheerful voice.  He couldn’t help but enjoy Viktor’s confused yet impressed facial expression.  Eyebrow cocked, Viktor picked up the model and gave the previously broken leg a gentle poke.  It stayed put.

“…how did that even work?  No glue?”  Vikor asked, inspecting the horse in his hand to attempt to discern how Yuuri’s method worked.

“Well, Breyer horses are made of a plastic called cellulous acetate.  When you combine that with acetone, it creates a chemical reaction where the plastic melts.  So we basically just melted the leg back together.  It’s a much stronger and cleaner fix than super glue would be.  Neat, huh?” Back when they first started hanging out, Yuuri was terrified of sounding like a know-it-all so he held back on sharing a lot of his knowledge with Viktor.  Now, he was realizing that Viktor actually enjoyed learning from him and he was beginning to loosen up a bit and have fun teaching Viktor.

“Wow!  Amazing, Yuuri!  Where did you even learn to do something like that?”  Viktor leaned forward with eagerness.

“Not to interrupt, but like, we have something important to talk about,” Phichit interjected before Yuuri could launch into an explanation.

“We do?” Yuuri looked at Phichit and tilted his head. Viktor looked a little concerned.

“Spares Night is on Sunday!” Phichit exclaimed.  “We need to _plan!_ ”

“Oh, right!  Spares Night!” Yuuri clapped his hands together.  “How could I forget?”

“Is that a singles night type thing?”  Viktor asked, and Yuuri wondered why he looked so crestfallen all of a sudden. 

Phichit snorted with laughter.  “ _Singles_ night!  Oh God, it does sound like that!  Hah!”

“Phichit!”  Yuuri scolded.  Since Viktor seemed troubled by the concept for whatever reason, he didn’t need Phichit teasing him over it.  “Be nice!  How is Viktor supposed to know what Spares Night is?  Even most experienced collectors wouldn’t have a clue.  It’s pretty obscure.”

“Sorry,” Phichit giggled.  “But you’ve got to admit, what he said _did_ sound like, really funny.”

“Collectors?” Viktor wondered aloud.  “So it’s a horse thing?”

“Yep!”  Phichit answered before Yuuri had the chance to.  He draped himself backwards over the arm of his chair so he was looking at Yuuri and Viktor upside down.  “There are these funky British model horses that Yuuri likes and you can’t just, like, buy them normally.  You either need to special order one, or you can try your luck at Spares Night.  Spares Night is when there are a bunch of premade horses that get posted and everyone tries to buy them before someone else.  And it gets so crazy!  For real, it’s pretty much the Hunger Games of the model horse world.  These British ladies don’t mess around.  You gotta be lightning fast to get _anything._ ”

“And since it happens in the evening if you’re on British time, that means it’s at like four thirty in the morning Tokyo time.  So Phichit and I started to make an event of it.  We pull an all-nighter and we have snacks and board games and watch movies,” Yuuri picked up where Phichit left off.

“Sooooo much fun!” Phichit trilled, still hanging upside down.  “Then I try to get the horse Yuuri wants with my speedy typing skills!  We’re soooo tired the next day, but it’s totally worth it.  Like, I don’t even collect horses but I loooove Spares Night.  It’s very exciting.”

“That does sound like a really fun night,” Viktor said, wistful.  “I bet you guys will have a great time.”

“Why don’t you come, too?  The more the merrier, right?”  Phichit twisted around so he was sitting upright again.  “Plus, having a third person would really increase our board game possibilities.”

“I’d _love_ to!”  Viktor exclaimed, flashing a broad grin and bouncing in his seat.  But then his face fell.  He dropped his gaze to his fingers and twiddled them with a sad expression on his face.  “But I can’t.”

“Why?”  Yuuri asked, feeling keen disappointment.  Having Viktor at Spares Night would be like a dream come true. 

“I can’t leave Makkachin alone overnight like that.  She needs to go out to go to the bathroom before I usually go to bed, plus I think she’d be scared getting left all by herself in my apartment at night.  Usually when I have to leave her like that I get a dog sitter but it would be too short notice now,” Viktor explained, looking morose. 

“Just bring her!  This building allows pets!”  Yuuri yelped.  He was beyond relieved that it was a problem with an easy solution so the night wasn’t lost yet.

“Yeah!  As long as we make sure my bedroom door is shut so she can’t scare the hamsters it’ll be fine!  Plus I want to meet her anyway because she looks very snuggly in photos,” Phichit chimed in, bobbing is head in agreement.

“Really?  You guys don’t mind?”  Viktor asked, his frown replaced with a delighted expression.

“Not a bit,” Yuuri smiled.

“Then I’ll be here for sure!”

~*~

“Chris what do I _wear_?” Viktor whined, holding up two almost identical button downs in front of his webcam.

“Neither of those,” Chris said, exasperated.  When he caught sight of Viktor’s pout he softened his tone.  “Viktor, this is pretty much a slumber party, right?  You don’t wear a collared shirt to a slumber party.  You wear something comfy.”

“But I want to look cute for Yuuri!”  Viktor flopped into the chair in front of his laptop and dropped his head to the table with an audible thunk that made Chris wince.

“Well for starters, concussions aren’t cute so _please_ don’t do that.  And you don’t need to dress up like you usually do to look cute.  What about that light grey sweater that Mila gave you for Christmas?  And a pair of jeans.  That’s nice and much more appropriate for a slumber party,” Chris suggested. 

Viktor wrinkled his nose.  “But it’s all baggy.”

“It’s supposed to be like that.  That’s fashionable right now.  Plus it’s actually comfortable and since you’re going to be lounging around playing board games or whatever I’m pretty sure you don’t need to dress to the absolute nines.” Despite Chris’ logic, Viktor seemed unconvinced.  “At least go try it on and see how it looks?”

Viktor gave a blustery sigh and retreated to his room to find the sweater Chris was talking about.  He _knew,_ of course, that it was fashionable right now, but that didn’t mean it was his taste.  When asked to describe his look, Viktor liked to say something to the tune of “classic elegance,” not “baggy sweaters that go partway down your thighs.” _Naturally, though, I can make just about any outfit look good even if I don’t like it,_ Viktor mused, fishing the garment off its hanger.  Since he had never even put it on, it was crammed way to the left side in favor of clothes he wore more often. 

As he had not even thought about the sweater for a while, Viktor had forgotten how soft the material was.   He stroked it, enjoying how the yarn felt under his fingers, and wondered if maybe wearing it wouldn’t be quite so awful as he feared.  A while back when Mila first gave it to him, he actually played with the idea of turning it into a pillow.  That is, he’d played with the idea until Mila informed Viktor that she’d slap him if he dared to hack up a designer sweater to make a throw pillow.  After that he’d just stuffed it into his closet and forgotten it existed. 

As soon as he redressed himself in the outfit Chris described, Viktor returned to the kitchen. It didn’t look as horrible as he expected it to, but it still was far from his favorite.

 “Chris, I think this is a ‘no.’  It really isn’t me at all,” Viktor said, doing a turn in front of the webcam so Chris could see the loose garment from all angles.  “It’s kind of shapeless. This style doesn’t suit me.”

“Actually, I think this is a ‘yes.’  For one thing, you can see your collar bone a bit and we both know that’s a pretty good look for you.  For another, let’s consider what _Yuuri_ will think of it.  Imagine him stroking your arm and saying ‘ _wow, Viktor, your sweater is so soft and lovely_.’  Imagine that Yuuri falls asleep leaning on you because your sweater is so comfy and you get to watch him looking all cute and sleepy.  Imagine if Yuuri _hugs_ -”

“Okay okay, I get it!” Viktor squeaked, covering his face with his hands to hide the furious blush spreading across his cheeks like wildfire.  “You win!  I’ll wear the sweater!”

“Good.  I figured as much,” Chris said with a knowing smile while Viktor wrapped his arms around his torso and wondered what he’d gotten himself into.

~*~

Makkachin’s claws click-clacked on the stairs as Viktor led her up to Yuuri’s apartment.  She sniffed all around on the way up, intrigued by being in a new place. 

“Slow down, girl,” Viktor pleaded as she surged up the stairs in her eagerness to reach the top.  “I’ve only got two legs.”  Makkachin didn’t want to slow down, though, so she kept up her determined ascent, pulling her owner along with her.  Rather than faceplant halfway up the third flight of stairs when she gave a sudden jerk forward, Viktor let her leash slip through his fingers and turned Makkachin loose.  After all, the only direction she could go was up, and Yuuri and Phichit lived on the top floor.  It wasn’t like she could get lost.  Realizing she was free, Makkachin zipped away up the stairs.

Viktor heard the telltale sound of Makkachin scratching at the door with her paws and whining.  He winced, hoping she wouldn’t hurt the paint before he could get up there and knock for the both of them. 

“Oh, hello Makkachin.  Where have you left Viktor?”  Viktor heard Yuuri’s voice, accompanied by the whoosh of the apartment door opening.

“I’m on my way up!  She just beat me to it, naughty little thing that she is,” Viktor hollered up the stairs and enjoyed Yuuri’s chuckle even if he couldn’t see his face.  He could just imagine his expression and the adorable way the skin around his eyes crinkled up when he laughed.    

Breaking to a trot, Viktor hurried up the last flight, not wanting to keep Yuuri waiting.  Plus, if he was honest with himself, he was just a tad bit jealous that Makkachin was getting to see Yuuri before him.

“Hello!” Viktor said in a sing song voice as he reached the landing at last.  Yuuri was down on his knees on the welcome mat ruffling his hands through Makkachin’s coat as she kissed him on the cheek in return, paws pressed to his chest.  He wore a light brown pull over that brought out his eyes wonderfully.  “Is she behaving herself?”

“Not really, but she’s so sweet I don’t even care,” Yuuri laughed, disentangling himself from the poodle so he could stand up to greet Viktor.  Once he caught sight of Viktor, Yuuri’s cheeks went pink and he rubbed a hand along the back of his neck bashfully.  “That’s a pretty sweater Viktor.  It’s a nice color on you,” Yuuri smiled and Viktor’s heart jumped.

“Thank you, Yuuri. I’m glad you like it,” Viktor smiled back and did his best to contain his own blush. He made a mental note to thank Chris later. As usual, even though Chris was thousands of miles away, he somehow managed to be the perfect wingman anyway. The two of them lapsed into silence for a moment. Viktor had never been more overwhelmed with the desire to kiss someone as he was looking at Yuuri there on the landing. The evening sunlight coming in through a small window played across his cheeks in a way that was unfairly pretty. Yuuri's hair looked even shinier than usual, and the sight of him biting his lip was enough to drive Viktor half crazy.

 “Yuuri!  The kitchen timer is going off!  Am I supposed to stir?”  Phichit yelled from inside the apartment, shattering the moment as Yuuri’s head snapped around.

“Coming!  Don’t touch a thing!” Yuuri called back.  “Er, please come in Viktor.”  He ushered Viktor into the apartment and then hurried into the kitchen to rescue Phichit.  Makkachin didn’t need to be asked twice and pranced through the door.  Right away, she set off for the kitchen to locate the source of the good smell filling the apartment.

“Hiya, Viktor!” Phichit said in a sing song voice as he traipsed out of the kitchen.  He flopped down on the couch and motioned for Viktor to join him.  “Let’s leave Yuuri to it.  He doesn’t trust me in there any longer because I was cooking ramen last week and I kind of set it on fire a little bit.  He forgets that I am an amazing baking assistant, tsk tsk.”

Viktor cocked an eyebrow, feeling like there was certainly more to the story.  He wanted to go into the kitchen, since that’s where Yuuri was, but he felt like it would be awkward to leave Phichit.  Anyway, it did seem like Yuuri was busy.

“Okay, first of all, I think ‘a little bit’ is kind of an understatement.  And secondly, you forget to mention that you were making _instant ramen_ from a _packet_ and you still managed to turn it into _a three foot wall of flame,_ ” Yuuri shouted from the kitchen.

Phichit giggled, “Jeez, Yuuri.  So sassy!” 

“Am I wrong?”

“Well, no.  But you were late for dinner and didn’t tell me, so I thought you were gone forever and I’d _starve,_ ” Phichit whined, trying to sound as pathetic as possible as he flung himself backward in true dramatic fashion.  Since Yuuri was in the kitchen and couldn’t see, the performance was for Viktor’s benefit alone.

“Nice try,” Yuuri scolded.  “At the end of the day you’re still the one who lit instant ramen on fire.”

Viktor couldn’t help but laugh, which got Phichit rolling, too.  From the kitchen, Viktor could hear Yuuri snickering as he worked on whatever he was cooking.  It was clear that Yuuri wasn’t actually that mad about the ramen fire.  Despite the apparent shenanigans, Yuuri and Phichit had a genuinely good time together.  _This reminds me of that summer when Chris and I lived together in Italy for work and shared an apartment,_ Viktor thought as he laughed.  _I didn’t really realize how much I missed this sort of thing, though._ That revelation made his mood drop a bit, but he forced himself to keep looking happy.  _Keep up appearances now, Viktor.  This is going to be fun, so don’t get all bogged down feeling sorry for yourself._

“Dinner’s almost ready, guys!”

Phichit gave a delighted yelp and bolted to the kitchen.  Viktor stood up a little more slowly.  At that moment it sunk in that he was about to eat dinner that Yuuri cooked for him.  Of course, on other visits, he had tried cookies and other snacks made by Yuuri, but this was _dinner.  How did I get this lucky?  Dinner made by Yuuri!  I bet it will be delicious._

“Viktor what would you like to drink?”  Yuuri asked once Viktor collected himself enough to enter the kitchen area. 

“I recommend soda because honestly you’ll need the caffeine.  It’s gonna be a real late night,” Phichit said, already pulling three colas out of the fridge without waiting for confirmation one way or the other.  “We don’t need anyone falling asleep at crunch time.”

“That’s true,” Viktor assented even though he wasn’t usually much of a soda drinker.  _When in Rome,_ Viktor thought, _and anyway, he’s right, I don’t want to crash at midnight and miss all the fun._

“Do you need any help with anything?” Viktor offered.  Phichit was already setting the table while Yuuri put whatever he’d made for dinner in matching blue ceramic bowls.  It was obvious that they had a system to dinner time from the quick way they worked around each other.

“I think we’re all set!  Thank you very much, though,” Yuuri said, bringing the food over to the table with a sweet smile that made Viktor’s knees knock.

“Wait till you try this Viktor; Yuuri’s a super cook,” Phichit said as the three of them gathered around the small table and sat down.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Yuuri said, modest.  He seemed somewhat embarrassed by the praise.

“Shush!  Don’t down play your talents,” Phichit said with a disapproving wave of his chopsticks.

“He’s right.  I’m sure it’s delicious if it’s anything like the cookies and stuff you make,” Viktor said.  “Plus it smells wonderful,” he added as Yuuri set a bowl in front of him.

“I propose a toast!” Phichit interrupted before Yuuri could be modest again.  He raised his soda can in the air with such a flourish that Viktor was amazed it didn’t spill all over the place.  “May we have an entertaining night and may we prevail over the other ravenous collectors to help Yuuri buy a cool horse!  To Spares Night!”

“To Spares Night!” They chorused and clinked their cans together.  _And may tonight give me the chance to get closer to Yuuri, too,_ Viktor added to himself in his own silent toast as he got ready to dig into the meal that Yuuri had prepared. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this one! Part Two of the Spares Night adventure should be even more fun! Spares Night is a real thing (which I have participated in on multiple occasions) and it really does get quite intense trying to buy something. It is really fun though, so I'm excited to write about it.
> 
> Also, sorry for the delay! I had more technical problems with my laptop, which if you've been keeping up with my other fic Gallop (my Yowapeda Equestrian au), you'll realize this has been something of a curse for me. I managed to return my previous laptop, which had been nothing but trouble, and trade it in for a different brand so fingers crossed this time I won't have any more technological craziness! The old one was overheating like crazy which really put a limit on how much I could use it. This is also why I haven't replied to the chapter 6 comments. I'll respond to those tonight or tomorrow, so please don't think I'm ignoring you if I haven't replied to your comments yet! I appreciate each and every comment so very much <3
> 
> Please be sure to tell me what you think and give me constructive criticism if you have any feedback for me! I can be reached here in the comments section, on Tumblr @haircut-named-arthur , or on Twitter @pennylanewrites ! Also, if you want to peruse my model horse Instagram, you can find me @pennylanestables 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this story! You guys are the best! <3 <3 <3
> 
> Until next time my friends!


	8. Spares Night Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spares Night festivities are in full swing after dinner when an unexpected guest joins in on the game of Clue. Will Viktor and Yuuri be able to play it cool?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the Spares Night arc is here! I really hope that you all like this chapter, and be sure to let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy~

“Oh my God, Viktor! I wish you could have seen the expression on your face when you tried the Katsudon! I thought you might actually burst into _tears_ ,” Phichit teased, looking comical with soap bubbles on his nose. He and Viktor were doing the dishes since Yuuri had cooked dinner. Granted, Yuuri had wanted to do them, but Phichit all but shoved him out of the kitchen exclaiming “He who cooks shall not clean! Out you go!”

“Well Yuuri is an absolutely _amazing_ chef, how could I not be excited? That was probably the most heavenly thing I’ve ever eaten,” Viktor said, drying the bowl Phichit handed to him. _Plus, I mean, I was eating dinner that Yuuri_ made _for me so that’s quite special,_ he thought to himself, _talk about a dream come true_.

 “Were you poking fun at him in there?”  Yuuri asked Phichit once he and Viktor finished washing up and returned to the living room.

“Um, _no!_ Of _course_ not!  What do you take me for, Yuuri?”  Phichit said, pressing a hand to his chest and doing his best to appear as scandalized as possible.  When Yuuri cocked an eyebrow at him, he giggled, “Well, maybe just a little.  He’s fun to mess with, Yuuri.  I can’t resist.”

“Play nice, will you?  Viktor, you need a crash course in Julips before Spares Night gets rolling,” Yuuri said, and patted a spot on the couch next to him.

“Julips?  Like mint julips?  I thought we weren’t drinking so we could stay awake?”  Viktor asked as he plunked himself down on the couch beside Yuuri and did his best not to swoon at their close proximity.  If he wiggled over even a centimeter, their knees would bump.

“No, Julips as in Julip model horses! They’re the type of horse for sale during spares night,” Yuuri explained and handed Viktor a smallish horse with a fluffy mane and tail. “This is my favorite one.  His name is Cookie.  They’re all handmade in England by one lady, and they’re made exactly the way they’ve always been made. Julip is the oldest continuously operating model horse company in the world, so it’s pretty impressive that they do things the same way still.”  
“Wow!” Viktor said as he inspected the horse in his hands. It was heavier than he’d expected, and it had a soft mohair mane and tail. Compared to the other horses Yuuri collected, it was much simpler in its details. Nonetheless, it had an endearing facial expression and a charming appearance. Reaching to stroke the mane once more, Viktor’s hand bumped one of its legs. As soon as he touched it, the leg skewed sideways at a crazy angel with no warning at all. He stared at it in absolute horror. “Oh no, Yuuri! I’m so sorry I broke it! I can’t believe I ruined your favorite one. I should have been more careful, I-”

Viktor broke off from his frantic apology when he realized Yuuri was howling with laughter and nearly bent double.  From the other couch, Phichit was snickering, too.  Blinking, Viktor tried to make sense of why Yuuri was cracking up when his favorite Julip had been so carelessly damaged before his very eyes.

“Oh gosh, Viktor, I don’t mean to laugh!  But you didn’t break a thing.  Look,” Yuuri said once he’d recovered somewhat and wiped the tears from his eyes.  Taking the horse from Viktor, he gently bent the leg back into position so it looked like nothing had even happened.  “They’re _bendy,_ which is half the fun.”

“I’m so relieved,” Viktor sighed and slumped against the back of the couch, resting his forearm over his eyes. He was quite certain that breaking one of Yuuri’s beloved horses would not be considered skillful flirting. Or even flirting at all. Self-sabotage would have been more accurate. When Yuuri passed him the model once more, he tried to flex the leg as well, and it bent without any trouble.

Viktor continued to play around with the horse and move its legs about into new poses. _I can see why Yuuri likes them,_ he thought, _they're quite fun._ Meanwhile, Yuuri launched into a detailed description about anything and everything Viktor ever could have imagined about Julips and showed off members of his own collection and photos of others on the computer.

“Yuuri, you must be an expert on these. You know so much!” Viktor said once Yuuri explained the difference between the vintage straight head thoroughbred mold and the current one.

 “I’m kind of new to Julips, so I don’t know too much about them actually,” Yuuri replied, bashful.  “I’ve only been into them for a year or two, so a lot of the other collectors could put me to shame.”

“He’s just being modest.  He might be new to them but he researched them like a madman as soon as he found out about them,” Phichit supplied, looking up from scrolling Instagram to grin at the pair on the couch.  “Also, like I know the whole point of Spares Night is plastic ponies, but can we _please_ play Clue now?  With a third person it will suck _so_ much less since we won’t need to play as multiple characters.”

“It’s still better with more people, though.  Maybe we could do Parcheesi?  That’s good with three people,” Yuuri suggested and Phichit pouted.

“But Clue is _better_!  And we always do Parcheesi!”

“My friend likes Clue,” Viktor said, absent minded as he experimented with posing some of the other horses Yuuri had brought out.  He was very engaged in the endeavor of arranging them into a tiny scene together.  They looked like a little herd of wild horses trotting and prancing across the coffee table together.  The mohair manes were getting kind of messy, but Viktor thought that it enhanced the wild appearance he was going for.

“OMG does he live near here?  Call him up!  He can be player four!” Phichit practically yelled over at Viktor, sitting bolt upright in his eagerness.

“Er, well, he’s kind of in Switzerland at the moment…” Viktor said, apologetic.

“That’s fine, we’ll Skype him in!” Phichit yelped. “Clue by conference call!”

“How would that even work?  How will he see his cards without us seeing them?”  Yuuri asked, quizzical. 

“We’ll figure it out when we get there.  Call him!!” 

Viktor selected Chris’ name off his speed dial list, and Chris picked up before the phone even rang twice.

“Hello hello, Viktor.  Aren’t you supposed to be over at Yuuri’s place right now?”  Chris asked.

“I’m here now,” Viktor said, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Then why are you calling _me_?  Like you know I love the attention, but yeah.  Wait!  Are you asking me to SOS you?  Is drama happening?  Do I need to pretend to be at the hospital again?  Or how about-”

“Um, no.  None of the above.  Would you like to join in a game of Clue via Skype call?” Viktor interrupted before Chris could take off on a wild tangent.

“Hell yes!  Why didn’t you _say_ so?”

“Well, you didn’t give me much of a chance to, but okay.  I’ll call you from Phichit or Yuuri’s account so make sure you accept the request. See you in a minute!” Viktor said. On one hand he was sure the game would be a lot of fun, but on the other he knew Chris' ways. He would probably make non-subtle hints about Viktor’s crush all evening if Viktor didn’t keep him in check.

“Wait!  Oh wow, this means I get to see you interact with your Lover Boy!  How spicy!  I can practically feel the sexual tension in the air alre-”

“I said _see you_ , Chris,” Viktor said as firmly as he could without letting his smile falter and ended the call. He was rather certain he was keeping up a good façade, but he could have sworn that Phichit gave him a knowing sort of smirk. Before Viktor could get a good look to try and confirm one way or the other, Phichit turned away to rifle through all the board games until he found Clue.

“Here’s my laptop, Viktor. You can call Chris since you know his username,” Yuuri offered and handed Viktor his computer. It was enough to distract him from trying to puzzle out what Phichit knew or didn’t know. _He and Chris could have the potential to become a dangerous combination_ , Viktor thought as he clicked Skype open.

Since he usually just chose Chris out of his contact list, it took a minute for Viktor to puzzle out his Skype name. Finally, after several incorrect tries, he remembered it and put in the call. Chris picked up right away and Viktor set the laptop on the edge of the coffee table so everyone could see each other and the game board.

“Hello everyone. My name is Christophe, though you can call me Chris, and it’s a _pleasure_ to meet you,” Chris drawled, punctuating his sentence with a wink, resting his cheek on his hand. Yuuri started to blush right away and Viktor gave Chris a meaningful glance that he hoped conveyed the message _not_ to flirt with Yuuri. _You're supposed to be on my side here, Chris!_ Granted, Chris was the definition of a flirt and he was at it more or less constantly even if he didn’t mean anything by it. Once he and Phichit finished introducing themselves, Yuuri, still red in the face, unfolded the instruction sheet.

 “Does anyone need a refresher on the rules before we get cracking?”  He asked.

“I’m fine, thanks, but Viktor probably does.  He’s _awful_ at this game,” Chris teased.

“Am not!” Viktor retorted and crossed his arms.

“No offense, but how can someone be bad at Clue?” Phichit laughed.

“I think it has something to do with the fact that he’s one of the most oblivious people in the universe,” Chris said with a shrug.

“Hey!  No fair! I’m no-”

“You don’t say. I know _all_ about friends like that,” Phichit interjected, and Viktor saw a look pass between him and Chris that he couldn’t even begin to understand. Yuuri looked just as confused as Viktor felt.

“Well, Viktor says he’s fine on the rules so why don’t we start? If anyone needs help someone else can always explain while we go along,” Yuuri suggested in what seemed like a calculated move to end whatever weird telepathic conversation Chris and Phichit seemed to be engaged in. “So who wants to be who?”

 “Well, Yuuri is _always_ Miss Scarlet and I call Colonel Mustard,” Phichit said.

“Really?  That’s interesting, I’d have guessed you’d pick someone like Professor Plum.  I understand why you like Miss Scarlet, though.  I usually choose her myself,” Chris commented, sending Yuuri into another furious blush.

“Oh, uh well, you can be her if you want to,” he stuttered, but Chris waved him off.

“No, she actually does suit you now that I think about it.  I’ll take Mrs. Peacock in that case,” Chris said.  “If I recall correctly, Viktor usually plays as Professor Plum?”

“I do.  I like his glasses,” Viktor nodded.

“Right, so let’s get started!” Phichit exclaimed, jiggling his leg in his eagerness to begin the game.  “So the best way to do this is probably deal out the cards, then someone can cover their eyes and take a picture of Chris’ and then text the photo to him.”

“I agree,” Yuuri concurred, “and whoever is closest to his piece can move it how he wants them to.”

Taking a picture of the cards without looking proved to be rather more challenging than anyone had really expected, but eventually Chris was in possession of a mostly non-blurry and legible photo of his cards.

“Wait, there’s something wrong with mine,” Viktor said, pulling a card out from his hand and showing everyone.  “How can I have the Professor Plum card if _I’m_ Professor Plum?”

“Geez, Viktor!  Now we need to do it over!”  Chris sighed while Phichit slumped in dramatic fashion. 

“Why?”

“Well now everyone knows that you aren’t the murderer!” Phichit said, taking back everyone’s cards to shuffle them all over again.

“Good, I don’t want to be the murderer,” Viktor pouted and Yuuri gave his arm a placating pat.

“No one does, Viktor,” he said.  “Next time don’t show us your cards, okay?”

Once the cards were redistributed, the game moved along quickly. Viktor remained a less than proficient Clue-player since he didn’t keep good track of the clues and kept asking the same questions. Phichit, however, was either a terrifyingly good guesser or just really lucky because he always seemed to know which questions to pose. The game more or less dissolved into shenanigans when Yuuri started to accuse Professor Plum in the bedroom and Phichit screeched “How _SAUCYYYY_!!!!” at an ear splitting volume.

“Phichiiiiiit!” Yuuri wailed and buried his face in his hands while Viktor blushed and Chris gave his best maniacal cackle. He and Phichit high fived through the computer screen.

"My oh _my,_ Yuuri! I didn't expect _that_ ," Chris laughed and Yuuri just groaned. Viktor thought he was right about Chris and Phichit being trouble together.

Afterwards, no one could make any guesses without dissolving into giggles. Chris and Phichit started to make _all_ the accusations in the bedroom even after it became rather clear that there wasn’t much to be gained from it. Of course, Phichit made sure all the little figures wound up in the bed together and kept up a running commentary with Chris’ help the entire time. “Mrs. Peacock, how absolutely scandalous!”

Once Yuuri got over his initial embarrassment, he messed around just as much as everyone else and howled at Chris and Phichit’s antics.  At one point, he laughed so hard that he leaned his head into Viktor’s shoulder to he wouldn’t tip right over.  Viktor’s heart missed a beat, but he seized the moment and leaned against Yuuri, too, savoring the feeling of their heads touching together as they laughed. 

~*~

Chris had to log off after two games of Clue, but the fun continued with board games, cards, and snacks while the clock ticked onward towards four o’clock in the morning. After a while they switched to Mario Kart, which quickly turned _very_ excitable.

 “No no no no noooooo!!  I was in front!” Phichit cried when Yuuri rammed him off the Rainbow Road.  Viktor wasn’t even a contender since his video game experience was limited at best and he couldn’t recall if he’d ever played Mario Kart (sober) before.  He was having enough trouble just staying on the road for more than a few seconds let alone challenging Phichit and Yuuri for the lead. 

Phichit managed to catch up with Yuuri once more, only for Yuuri to foil his plans again.

“Yuuuuri!  I thought we were friends!”  Phichit groaned.

“All’s fair in love and war, Phichit,” Yuuri yelled back and Viktor had to do his best not to chuckle at Yuuri’s surprising intensity.  He never would have expected Yuuri to be so aggressive about something like Mario Kart.  Or anything, really.  The more time he spent with Yuuri the more surprises that Viktor discovered.  Yuuri was so much more than just the cute, shy boy that Viktor had spotted on Instagram earlier in the year.

_SLAM SLAM SLAM_

Everyone froze and cast frantic looks at each other.  Yuuri scrambled across the room and unplugged the console and the screen went dark.

“Aw _man_ ,” Phichit sighed.  “The down stairs neighbors must have just got home.  They’re barely ever in on the weekends so I thought we were home free to do whatever we want.  No more Mario Kart?”  He gave an empty bag of chips a sullen prod with his foot.

 “No more Mario Kart,” Yuuri confirmed.  “Unless we could play quietly, which I tend to doubt.”

“What _was_ that?” Viktor asked.  He’d pulled his knees up to his chest so his feet weren’t on the floor anymore after the sudden ruckus.

“The down stairs neighbors don’t like when we’re loud at night,” Phichit explained.

“Understandably,” Yuuri added, but Phichit ignored him.

“So they get pissy and slam the ceiling with the broom stick when they think we’re being too rowdy.  Meanwhile _they_ watch soap operas at maximum volume morning noon and night,” Phichit huffed.  “Usually on the weekends they aren’t home, but they have a talent for being around on like, every Spares Night and stifling our creativity.”

“To be fair, we were being too loud,” Yuuri shrugged.  Phichit stuck his tongue out and rolled his eyes.  “Let’s put on a movie for a while so they don’t hit the ceiling again.  I don’t want them to snitch on us to the landlord anyway.  What do you all want to wa-”

“ _Hamtaro_!”

“Phichit, we just marathoned all the _Hamtaro_ movies last week,” Yuuri said.

“And your point is?  You can never have too many cute and adorable anime hamsters if you ask me,” Phichit giggled.  When Yuuri raised his eyebrow skeptically, Phichit laughed.  “Okay, fair.  Maybe it’s just me that can never have too many anime hamsters.  How about _The King and the Skater_?”

“Have you ever seen that, Viktor?  Phichit showed it to me when we became roommates and it’s really good,” Yuuri explained.  “We’ve watched it together a whole bunch since then.”

“I’ve never seen it, but if you both like it I’m sure it’s great.  I’d love to see it,” Viktor smiled.

“Yahoo!” Phichit yelped, looking chagrined after Yuuri gave him a warning glance.  He did his best to be extra quiet as he found the DVD and inserted it into the player.  Once the movie got rolling, he scooted back to his seat and crawled under a blanket, tossing another one over to Yuuri and Viktor.

“How long until the sale starts?” Phichit stifled a yawn.

“A couple of hours.  We’ll have time to finish the movie, and then it will almost be time to start,” Yuuri said, casting the blanket over himself and Viktor.

_I’m. Sharing. A. Blanket. With. Yuuri!!_ Viktor thought, giving Yuuri what he hoped was a serene smile as he smoothed the blue fleece blanket out. Honestly, he found the evening a bit hot for a blanket having grown up in a much colder climate, but at the same time he wasn’t about to give up such a wonderful opportunity. Yuuri seemed totally oblivious to Viktor’s excitement over the shared blanket and curled up next to him so their shoulders just barely touched.

“Hang on, let me make sure my alarm is set. I feel pretty awake, but I don’t think we should take any chances,” Yuuri checked his phone to make sure his alarm was in order, and then retreated back underneath the blanket. "Okay, it's all set. You can play the movie now."

It became quite obvious just how many times Phichit and Yuuri had watched the movie together before the first scene was even over. The two of them quoted the opening lines of the movie in perfect time with the characters and high-fived each other after a flawless performance. Viktor couldn’t help but laugh.

 “We can do the whole movie like that,” Phichit bragged.

“Yes, but we aren’t going to because Viktor has never seen it before and he probably wants to listen to the actual movie,” Yuuri said while Phichit pretended to be put out by Yuuri’s chastisement. 

“Oh, I don’t really mind,” Viktor chuckled. 

“It’s okay, it’s a good movie.  You should enjoy it,” Yuuri smiled in Viktor’s direction before turning back to the television screen. 

It _was_ a good movie, Viktor thought.  The characters were likable and the scenes were exciting.  The singing and dancing parts were excellent as well.  Viktor would have been totally engaged in the film if not for one crucial fact: Yuuri.  Yuuri leaned in closer and closer as the movie went on, and Viktor couldn’t figure out if it was on purpose or not.  All he wanted to do was cast his arm around Yuuri’s shoulders, but he felt like a teenager at a movie theater with his crush trying to find a subtle way to accomplish such a feat.  _Would that be weird?  To put my arm around him?  I mean, probably.  But he’s leaning so close to me!_  Viktor thought, and settled with resting an arm along the back of the couch somewhat above the level of Yuuri’s shoulders. 

Forcing himself to focus on the movie, Viktor fought back a fierce blush as Yuuri nestled ever closer to him. After a particularly touching scene that brought tears to his eyes, Viktor glanced over to see Yuuri's reaction. He figured Yuuri would be the type to get pretty emotional about movies and he wanted to see if he was right or not.

However, Yuuri was fast asleep with his cheek smooshed against Viktor’s shoulder and his mouth slightly open.  His glasses were pushed up and completely askew.  _Cuuuuuuute!!!_ Viktor thought and bit his lip to stop himself from squealing out loud.  He looked over in Phichit’s direction, and discovered that he was asleep, too, with his arms and legs spread eagle over the chair. 

Very carefully, so he wouldn’t rouse Yuuri, Viktor wiggled his phone out of his pocket, and after checking and re-checking that the flash was off, he snapped a quick photo of Yuuri as he slept.  Then he took a selfie of himself with sleeping Yuuri for good measure because, well, when was he going to get a chance like this again?  Anyway, he _needed_ the photos.  Yuuri’s extreme cuteness had to be preserved for generations to come.  And texted to Chris at the earliest possible convenience.

Emboldened by his success with the photographs, Viktor moved his arm from the back of the couch, looping it around Yuuri's shoulders. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned his head so it rested on top of Yuuri’s. _Go big or go home,_ he thought. He only hoped that the thumping of his heartbeat wouldn’t wake Yuuri as he settled in to watch the rest of the movie.

_Good call on the soft sweater, Chris,_ He thought, biting back a yawn.  Feeling warm and secure under the blanket with Yuuri, Viktor felt his eyelids starting to sag despite his best efforts to stay awake and see the film’s conclusion.

~*~

Yuuri scrunched up his nose and eyes and buried his head into the blanket away from the sound of his alarm.  _Why did I set it to go off so early?_ He thought, _What am I even sleeping on?  This isn’t my bed…_

_Wait._

_Spares Night!!_

Yuuri’s eyes snapped open as he turned his ringing phone off and took stock of his surroundings.  The last scene of _The King and the Skater_ was playing out on the television and he was leaning on Viktor.  Yuuri’s breath caught in his throat when he realized that Viktor was still snoozing and he had an arm draped around his shoulders.  It felt nice and protective, but Yuuri couldn’t even enjoy the sensation because he was so caught up in _why_ Viktor had his arm over him.

_He must just be doing it in a friendly way.  Like, I’m sure he doesn’t mean anything by it so_ why am I so flustered?  _Get a grip, Yuuri!_ He scolded himself.  Reluctant, since he had never in his wildest dreams thought that Spares Night would include an impromptu cuddle session with his crush, Yuuri gave Viktor’s shoulder a nudge.

“Hey Viktor, wake up.  It’s starting soon,” He whispered so he wouldn’t startle Viktor.  “Phichit, you too.  The sale is starting soon,” Yuuri said, reaching over with his foot to prod his friend on the leg.

Phichit scrambled into wakefulness and fell out of his arm chair in a tangle of blanket.  The thud woke Viktor, too, and all to quickly his arm was gone from Yuuri’s shoulders and he jerked into an upright position.  Yuuri’s side felt cold without Viktor and his warm sweater pressed against it.

“We gotta get the computers turned on!  It’s go time!” Phichit said, picking himself off the floor and clapping his hands together.  “Chop, chop!  Up you get!”

“I thought Yuuri was the one buying the horses,” Viktor laughed, stretching his arms above his head and twisting to the side to crack his back.  “So why are you so excited?”

“Phichit gets very competitive about it,” Yuuri said, trying not to fixate on how cute Viktor looked with bedhead.  His silvery hair was all stuck up in cowlicks and tufts, looking totally different from Viktor’s perfectly coiffed day time look.  “It’s like a game for him.”

“Yep!  And I almost always get Yuuri the horse he wants, ‘cause I’m a really fast typer,” Phichit explained as he opened up his laptop and logged onto the Julip website.  “So the way we do this is that we have two laptops going, mine and Yuuri’s.  I read out the horses that get posted as they show up, and Yuuri looks at the pictures on his laptop and then he tells me what stuff he wants me to go for.  I’ll do my best to snag something you want, too, if you’d like.”

“Oh, thanks!” Viktor chirped. “I may sit this one out and just watch, but we’ll see,” He said, settling back in next to Yuuri so he could observe the proceedings on Yuuri’s computer.  Yuuri tried his best not to tense up when Viktor scooted closer to him on the couch.  _Relax, Yuuri!_ He told himself.  _You were pretty much just sleeping on top of him, so this is nothing._ Rather than reassuring him, though, that thought just threatened to send him off into another fit of blushing.

“One minute to Spares Night!” Phichit announced.  Yuuri’s stomach felt like it was full of butterflies, and not just because of Viktor.  Spares Night was certainly fun, but it was also more than a little nerve-wracking.  It always got quite intense, and usually there were at least a few people who didn’t walk away with any goodies.  Thanks to Phichit’s skills, that had never happened to Yuuri yet, but he knew that it was always a risk.

“Aaaaand the first horse is up!  Roan Family Horse with a dropped head!” Phichit called out.

“Pass!”  Yuuri yelled back.  “I don’t much like that color of roan,” He said to Viktor, sounding rather apologetic.

“Okay, keep refreshing!” Phichit instructed and the only sound in the room for about fifteen seconds was the sound of frantic clicking.  Yuuri passed on the next couple of horses and the cycle continued.

“Piebald Dartmoor with added feathering!”

“Go go go!” Yuuri cheered and Phichit’s fingers flew across his keyboard.

“Crap!” He and Yuuri groaned in unison as Viktor looked on, confused. 

“We were the second comment,” Phichit explained and started refreshing the page once more.

“Dartmoors always go really fast.  That was an especially cute one, though,” Yuuri said, frowning.

“Focus!” Phichit said with surprising sternness.  “It’s not over yet so we need to keep going.  Don’t forget, you can call out for something, too, Viktor.”

A few more horses went by, but none tickled Yuuri’s fancy enough for him to ask Phichit to try for them.  They were all cute, of course, but Julips weren’t cheap, especially with overseas shipping.  Taking the price into consideration, he didn’t want to just buy one for the sake of buying one.  It had to be a horse he really loved.

“Light Grey Lipizzaner!”

Yuuri was about to pass on it as he already had a Lippi in bay and he wanted a horse on a mold he didn’t have yet, but then the picture loaded on his screen.  It was _perfect._

“Go for that one, Phichit!”  Yuuri yelped.  He stared at the photo and hoped that Phichit would be the first to comment “buy” under it.  The horse reminded him of nothing so much as Viktor.  It had an elegant appearance and a bright expression.  The horse’s thick grey mane fell rakishly over one light colored eye as it pranced.  Even its demeanor was reminiscent of Viktor’s as it looked confident and poised with a touch of mischievousness, if such a thing were possible for a plastic horse.  Yuuri just had to have it.  _Is it embarrassing that I want to buy an expensive horse just because it looks like my crush?  Probably.  Do I care?  Not particularly._

“Got him!!  He was a popular guy, Yuuri!  There are already four more comments on him!” Phichit crowed and Yuuri and Viktor cheered.   Yuuri just hoped that no one else would realize exactly why he had chosen that particular horse.

“Oh, he’s pretty Yuuri!” Viktor enthused as he got a better look at the horse.  “I can see why you chose him.”

“Now you need one, Viktor!” Yuuri grinned and bumped Viktor with his elbow.  He felt light and relieved now that he knew he was getting a horse, and a gorgeous one at that.  Now he could  enjoy the other offerings and maybe try for some tack and accessories or stable pets without the pressure of competing for the horses.

“We’ll see,” Viktor said with a smile, pressing the refresh button for Yuuri.

“We’ve gotta be getting to the end of the horses,” Yuuri observed as several more horses and ponies were sold.  _Maybe Viktor just doesn’t want to buy such a pricey model this early on in his collection,_ Yuuri thought.  Julips were well worth the money in his opinion, but he had felt a bit of sticker shock himself when he bought his first one.

“Black Arabian with a dropped head!” Phichit said, and Yuuri clicked the photo open. Viktor’s eyes went wide and he bit his lip when he saw the horse. There were several Julip Arabian molds, but Yuuri observed that this listing was for one of the cute, chubby pony-ish ones. The dropped head modification gave it almost a shy expression, but it was very sweet looking. If he hadn’t just bought his Lipizzaner, Yuuri would have been tempted by it.

 “I’ll take it!” Viktor said abruptly, startling Yuuri who hadn’t really expected him to buy any of them.  Phichit nodded and set to work.

“Got it!” He cried moments later and Viktor let out a whoop of delight and threw his arms around Yuuri without any warning.  Blushing happily, Yuuri returned the embrace.

_I never want this night to end,_ he thought, pressing his face against Viktor’s collarbone with more boldness than he knew he possessed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza, there was a bit of a gap between updates (sorry guys!!) but that's because of some exciting happenings! For one thing, I started a new job which I LOVE, and for another, I went to Breyerfest (aka the model horse celebration in Kentucky that Yuuri dreams of attending in this fic)!! It was a super chaotic week, but I had so so so much fun, met so many awesome people, and bought way too many plastic horses. All in all it was pretty much perfect!
> 
> Per usual, please please let me know what you think! Comments absolutely never fail to make my day and constructive criticism is totally welcome to help me improve my writing! You can comment on here, drop me a line on Tumblr @haircut-named-arthur, or visit my Twitter @pennylanewrites  
> I usually also Tweet about updates and stuff, so you can check that out as well.
> 
> ALSO, if anyone wants to check out my own model horse collection or browse some of my Breyerfest photos, my Instagram is @pennylanestables . There are also some photos of my Julips on there if you want to see what they look like! 
> 
> Thank you all for your lovely comments and such on the last chapter! You all are the BEST!
> 
> Until next time, my friends~


	9. Viktor Has a Really Bad Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor decides that he can't keep lying to Yuuri about being a model horse collector. Despite Chris' reservations, Viktor wants to reveal the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance but please read to the end!

“And then that’s when he fell asleep on me,” Viktor chattered at Chris. He grabbed the sides of his laptop in excitement as if Chris was in the room with him and he was grasping his upper arms.

 “I _told_ you that sweater was a good idea and you didn’t believe me,” Chris scoffed, though he couldn’t hide how pleased he looked.  “Who’s always right?”

“You, but can we make that ‘mostly always right’?” Viktor grinned.  “Even you have the occasional slip up.”

“ _Me_?  Never!”  Chris looked appalled.

“What about the time in Milan when you-”

“Viktor, we do not talk about that,” Chris said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“My point exactly.  Anyway, did I show you the pictures of sleeping Yuuri?” Viktor said, leaning so close to the computer his nose almost bumped the webcam.

“Only about fifty thousand times, but you can go ahead and show me again because I know you want to,” Chris replied, smiling when Viktor squealed with glee and brought the snapshots up on his phone.  “Okay, I know I said this last time you showed me, but these pictures are _really_ cute.  Yuuri is seriously adorable.  Viktor, when are you _finally_ going to get it over with and confess to him?  From what I saw while we were all doing board games I’m pretty sure you’ll get an answer you’ll like.”

“I dunno,” Viktor drummed his long fingers against the table and frowned a little.  “Sometimes I think that, too, but mostly I can’t really figure him out.  Sometimes he can be hard to read.  That being said, I _have_ decided to tell him the truth.”

“ _Really?!_ ” Chris gasped.  He leaned forward and clasped his hands together.  “Thank _God,_ I mean, it’s about time, honestly.  You have no idea how happy this makes me.” 

“I’m going to tell him that I’m not a real model horse collector today when we go to lunch,” Viktor said with conviction, and tapped his fist against his open palm.

“What the actual _hell,_ Viktor!  That’s not what I meant!”  Chris groaned and threw his head back in total exasperation.  “Literally why would you do that and risk all the progress you’ve made with him?”

“I need to Chris!  This whole… thing feels like it’s built on false pretenses and I can’t take it any longer.  I like him so much that the fact that I’ve been _lying_ to him is driving me crazy.  He doesn’t deserve that.  Clearing the air has to be better for both of us,” Viktor explained as Chris listened with an eyebrow incredulously cocked.

“Let me go on the record right now and say that this is a phenomenally, spectacularly, epically bad idea.  It’s too early to come clean about this.  That’s the kind of thing you say when you’ve already been dating for a while and you can do it in an ‘oh ha ha isn’t this funny’ kind of way so it’s not a big deal.  Plus, Viktor, you kind of are a real collector now.  I mean, you just spent over a hundred dollars importing some wacky bendy horse from Engla-”

“Julip.  You mean a Julip Originals horse,” Viktor interrupted.

“Okay, whatever, but that’s my _point_.  You aren’t even really lying about being a collector any more.  You have a collection, therefore you are a collector.  You even talk like a collector now, like you know all this stuff about model horses that someone who didn’t collect them would never even know.  Hell, it seems like you’re really enjoying the whole collecting thing.  Why blow this up over something so minor?  It’s not worth it, and I’m gonna tell you right now this isn’t going to do what you think it will,” Chris said in a very slow voice as if he were explaining trigonometry to a kindergarten student.

“You don’t _get_ it,” Viktor whined.  He dropped his head and torso to the table with as much drama as he could muster. 

“I think I get it better than you think I do.  Trust me, Viktor.  I understand the impulse, I really do, but this isn’t the time to do it.  I know you guys have gotten close pretty quickly, but you need to remember you haven’t even known each other for a very long time,” Chris said.  “It’s a bad idea and you’ll regret doing it.”

“Well, I think I know Yuuri a little better than you do,” Viktor snapped, sitting up and crossing his arms. “Just because you were on Skype with him once when we played Clue it doesn’t make you a Yuuri expert or something.”

“Okay, don’t listen to my advice then.  I’m just trying to help you so there’s no reason to get snippy with me,” Chris pursed his lips.  “Look, I need to go.  I’ll talk to you later.”

The call came to an abrupt end, leaving Viktor blinking at the Skype home page.  He couldn’t remember the last time he and Chris had ever ended a call without saying goodbye on purpose, but he was also annoyed at his friend.  _What does Chris know about Yuuri?_ I’m _the one who hangs out with him like every day, so I think I know what I’m doing,_ Viktor thought, feeling cross as he made himself a cup of coffee to pass the time waiting for lunch with Yuuri.  _I know I’m right._

~*~

Viktor sat down at the café table to wait for Yuuri, but he kept his bag on his lap.  He couldn’t risk having someone kick it or step on it if he left it on the floor of the small restaurant.  The bag contained precious cargo, and he couldn’t be having it get damaged in such a silly way.  He had arrived a few minutes before he was supposed to, but after the little snit he and Chris had gotten into, he’d just wanted to get out of the house.

When he saw Yuuri step in the door, Viktor waved him over to his table in the back corner.

“Yoohoo, Yuuri!  Over here!”

“Oh, gosh, am I late?  Sorry,” Yuuri said with an apologetic grin as he sat down at the table.  Viktor saw him looking at the bag, but Yuuri, ever polite, didn’t mention anything about it.

“No, I’m early.  You’re fine,” Viktor said, admiring how cute Yuuri looked in his navy and white striped t-shirt as he slipped off his tan jacket.  “I went ahead and ordered your tea for you.”  As if Viktor’s words had summoned her, the waitress appeared with their drinks.

“Are you ready to order?”  She asked, notepad at the ready.

“If we could have another minute to look at the menu that would be lovely,” Yuuri smiled at her, and she blushed a little as she walked away.  _There he goes again, totally charming people and not even noticing that he’s doing it,_ Viktor thought as he took a sip of his coffee.  _He does this kind of thing constantly, but I don’t think he realizes the effect that he has on people with that smile of his._

All of a sudden, Viktor felt nervous. He had planned on waiting until they ordered to have his discussion with Yuuri, but he didn’t think he could hold out that long.  He thought he might lose his nerve if he did and not say anything at all.  _I may as well just get it over with so we can enjoy our lunch properly,_ Viktor decided.

 “Yuuri, I brought something for you,” Viktor said, opening his bag and fishing around in it.  “And I have something to tell you, too.”

“You did?” Yuuri said, surprised.  He set his menu back on the table as Viktor produced a gift bag and placed it between the two of them.  “Oh, Viktor, you really didn’t need to bring me anything.”

“No, I wanted to.  Open it!”  Viktor encouraged, pushing the sparkly purple bag closer to Yuuri. 

Yuuri’s face had already gone pink by the time he had removed the present from the bag and started to pull away the layers of tissue paper.  He looked at Viktor, appearing quite shocked when he had taken away the final piece to reveal a nondescript bay horse.

“Th-this is your Hatatitla,” Yuuri said, holding the rare horse with the utmost care.  “Why-”

“You mean _your_ Hattie-la-la,” Viktor said, butchering the pronunciation as usual.  He didn’t think he’d ever gotten it right once. 

“Hah-tah-tee-ta-lah,” Yuuri corrected without skipping a beat.  “Viktor, there is _no way_ I can take her, especially not as a gift!  It’s too much.  She’s the best horse in your collection, you can’t just give her away!  Why would you _want_ to?  Oh no, you aren’t leaving the hobby are you?”  Yuuri looked aghast.

“Well, about the hobby, you can’t really leave something you weren’t part of to begin with,” Viktor said, hoping Yuuri wouldn’t notice the way he was jiggling his knee under the table.

“What do you mean Viktor?  I know your collection isn’t the biggest, but you absolutely are a part of the hobby,” Yuuri’s eyebrows knit together in concern.  “Did another collector say something to you online or something?  You can’t let someone bring you down just because they think they’re special for having lots of horses or something.  Most people in the hobby are so nice, but there are a few bad apples, so you just can’t listen to them.  Honestly they were probably jealous of Hatatitla.  You shouldn’t let rude people change what you think of your collection.  And anyway, _I_ for one love your collection.  Please don’t listen to them.”

Viktor’s heart thumped at the earnest look on Yuuri’s face as he gave his little pep talk.  _He jumped to my defense so quickly!  Does he even realize how sweet he is?_ Viktor thought, doing his best not to blush himself.

“Well, about that.  I haven’t been entirely truthful with you,” Viktor said.  He started to fear that Chris may have been right when he saw the way that Yuuri’s eyes opened wide and how his expression became apprehensive.  It was too late to turn back, though, so Viktor kept talking. “The funny thing is, I don’t actually collect model horses-”

Yuuri’s face fell, and he sat very, very still for the space of a heartbeat before placing Hatatitla back on the table cutting Viktor off.

“Funny?  _Funny?_ ”  Yuuri choked out, and Viktor felt his heart sink down to his toes when he saw the way Yuuri’s eyes welled up.  “You think that it’s funny to _lie_ to me?”

“Yuuri, wait,” Viktor said, but not with the force he’d hoped that it would carry.  He was too shocked by the turn the conversation had taken.  Handling emotions, whether they were his own or others’, had never been his strong point and he wasn’t even sure what to _do._  Yuuri stood up, lip quivering.

“No.  I won’t ‘wait.’  I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think that you actually wanted to be my _friend,_ ” Yuuri said, tears spilling over his thick eyelashes before he turned on his heel and hurried from the restaurant, stopping for a moment at the counter before rushing out the door.

Viktor sat alone at the table, staring out in front of him with a blank expression. He bit his lip. Even after Chris’ warnings, he’d never expected things to go quite so badly. Careful as he was still reluctant to damage her, he packed Hatatitla back up in the bag. At that moment, he could barely stand looking at her. When he looked at the horse, all he could think of was how crushed Yuuri looked when he'd set her back down on the table. Viktor's plan had been to use the rare horse as a sort of peace offering, to make it clear that even though he hadn’t told the truth, his intentions were never bad, but that failed. Miserably so, in fact.

Viktor couldn’t remember the last time that he had genuinely wanted to cry.  He wasn’t a crier.  Often, he could get emotional to the point of silliness, especially if he was a little drunk, but never about anything _real._ He could get worked up over cheesy scenes in movies or cute dogs all day long, but when it came to his actual feelings, he was far from expressive.

The waitress drifted back over, looking awkward, and gave Viktor the check before he could even ask for it.  It must have been obvious that he wanted to leave.  Who wouldn’t?  He was suddenly very aware of the fact that most everyone in the café was looking at him, although they tried to seem like they weren’t.  They peeked around menus, or cast quick glances at him as they ate their lunch.  Viktor felt acutely claustrophobic as he scanned the charges on the bill.

“Um, his tea isn’t on here,” Viktor said, somehow managing to keep his voice even.  Only his own coffee was listed.

“The other gentleman paid for it himself on the way out,” The waitress explained.  Her icy tone of voice made it clear that she had identified Viktor as the bad guy in the incident, and Viktor couldn’t help but think she was right.

“Oh,” Viktor said, feeling deflated, and rifled through his wallet.  _Of course he did.  Only Yuuri would do something like that.  The least he could have done was let me pay for the tea.  Now I feel even worse._ The only bills he had on him would amount to an aggressively large tip for just the one drink, but Viktor didn’t care.  He wasn’t about to hang around and wait for change, or for his credit card to get scanned.  All he wanted was to be gone.  “It’s all set.”

Before the waitress could say another word, Viktor gathered up the bag with Hatatitla in it and made his way out of the restaurant in a hurry.  He looked far more composed than he felt.

Viktor walked down the street in a fog.  In his mind, he replayed his interaction with Yuuri over and over and over.  Each time he imagined Yuuri’s facial expression, his heart broke a little more.  He weaved around people, walking as quickly as he could. At first he thought he’d be able to make it all the way to his apartment, but the need to talk to someone straight away won out in the end. Viktor settled for reaching a secluded park bench concealed by willow fronds at the pond about half way home. It stung when he thought of how this was the first place he’d ever laid eyes on Yuuri without the barrier of a phone screen between them. Now he doubted that Yuuri would ever want to see him again, in person or otherwise.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, and went to call Chris.  Viktor’s finger froze a millimeter above the screen.  _Chris is mad at me, too.  You’re batting a thousand today, Viktor,_ he thought, worrying his lower lip with his teeth.  Sighing, he pressed Chris’ contact anyway.  He _had_ to talk to someone.  He rested his elbows on his knees and stared out at the little pond as the phone rang.

_Please, please answer Chris.  I know you’re mad, but please answer,_ Viktor willed his friend.  Regardless of the time of day, Chris usually picked up on the first ring, so when the phone jangled for the fifth time he started to lose hope.

“I don’t have much time to talk, Viktor,” Chris answered the phone, sounding short. Even though Chris sounded pissed, Viktor had never felt more relieved when he picked up the call.

 “I’m sorry, Chris.  I wasn’t very nice this morning,” Viktor said.

“Is everything okay, Viktor?  You sound off,” Chris said, voice much softer now.  “Hang on, I’m just stepping out of the room so we can talk privately.”

“I can call back later if you’re busy with people,” Viktor offered.  He was amazed that Chris had been able to tell so quickly that something was wrong, especially when he thought he’d done a good job keeping his voice steady.

“No, no everyone at the shoot is just eating some food before we start.  Not a big deal.  It’s fine.  You sound like you need to talk now,” Chris said, concerned. 

“I screwed up really bad, Chris.  I don’t think Yuuri will ever talk to me again,” Viktor said in a soft voice.  He didn’t make any effort to wipe away the scalding tears tracking their way down his cheeks.  “You were right.  I’ve ruined everything,” he added, voice breaking.

“Oh, Viktor,” Chris said, sounding as sad as Viktor felt.  “If you can, please tell me about it?  Maybe things aren’t so hopeless as you think.”

~*~

As soon as Yuuri got home, he retreated to the safe haven of his bedroom and hid himself away under the covers.  Usually if he was upset about something, looking at his horses helped him to calm down, but right now didn’t even want to see them.  He couldn’t help but feel relieved that Phichit wasn’t home.  On one hand, he did want the company, but on the other he needed a minute to process what had happened. 

Viktor had _lied_ to him.

Viktor hadn’t actually ever wanted to be friends, or perhaps even something more.  The whole thing was just a ruse to set up a big, cruel trick on Yuuri.  Yuuri’s chest heaved when he thought about how he’d just had the rug pulled out from underneath him.  It had been so exciting getting to know Viktor, to finally befriend someone who was in the hobby that wasn’t oceans away.  But none of that had been real.  He felt betrayed.

_I was naïve to think that this was for real.  Why would someone like Viktor have any interest in me, as a friend or otherwise?_ Yuuri bit his lip, trying to stifle a sob.  _I just wanted it to be true so badly._ He buried his head in his pillow and shivered.

“Yuuuuuuuri, are you home?  I see your shoes but I thought you were with Viktor,” Yuuri heard Phichit call out through his bedroom door. 

_Crap,_ Yuuri thought and did his best to get a hold of himself.  He didn’t want Phichit to worry.  He didn’t want to be a burden.  In spite of himself, another gasping sob escaped his body.

“Yuuri?” Phichit must have heard him.  “Yuuri, I’m coming in, okay?”  Yuuri didn’t have much of a choice because Phichit opened the door before he could be invited in.  Even though he knew he should, Yuuri didn’t want to come out from under the blanket, but Phichit joined him underneath right away.

“Oh Yuuri, what happened?” Phichit whispered and rubbed a soothing hand against Yuuri’s shuddering shoulder.  “Not something with Viktor?”

“…yes,” Yuuri said in his smallest voice and gave up trying to dam his tears.  He could never hide how he really felt from Phichit.  Something about him was enough to draw out whatever Yuuri was feeling, no matter how much he wanted to keep it under wraps.

“Oh Yuuri,” Phichit said again.  He enclosed Yuuri in one of his impossibly warm hugs and pulled Yuuri close against him.  Nestling his nose into Phichit’s shoulder, Yuuri let himself cry as Phichit stroked his hair.  “I’m sorry, Yuuri.  It’ll be okay.  I’ve got you,” he said over and over.

Before too long, Yuuri cried himself out and he and Phichit both wound up sitting next to each other, shoulder to shoulder leaning against the wall, still cloaked in the blanket.

“Sorry about your shirt,” Yuuri said, tucking his knees up to his chin.  He fixed Phichit’s button down with a rueful look, frowning at the tear stained fabric.

“Shush, don’t worry about it.  You’re more important than a stupid shirt,” Phichit said.  He still held one of Yuuri’s hands in his, alternately giving it a comforting squeeze or rubbing little circles into it with his thumb.  “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Mhmm,” Yuuri said with a baleful sigh.  He felt somewhat better now that he’d had a good cry, but he still felt awful.  While he took a minute to collect himself, Phichit waited, patient, for him to explain the situation.

“So we met for lunch, like we planned,” Yuuri started, speaking slow.  He was still hiccupping from all the crying.  “And almost right away, he tells me that he’s been _lying_ to me.  He didn’t actually c-collect model horses a-at all.  It happened all o-over again.  Viktor _tricked_ me.  He never wanted to be my f-friend after all.  It was all fake.  And the w-worst part is, I w-was finally thinking he l-liked me _back._   B-but I was wrong.”  Yuuri’s lip quivered and he had to fight to keep himself from weeping all over again.

“That _jerk_!”  Phichit said, strident.  He looked at Yuuri with fire in his eyes.  “Oh boy, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind.  _No one_ does that to my best friend and gets away with it!”  With his free hand, he whipped his phone out of his pocket, ready to call Viktor up and chew him out.  Yuuri took the phone away with a shake of his head.

“You don’t need to.”

“But he can’t just get awa-”

“I already yelled at him.  It’s done.  Hopefully he thinks twice before he tries something like this on someone else,” Yuuri sighed.  “There’s no sense in dragging this out any further.”

“Well, good for you for putting him in his place, Yuuri.  As much as I’d have liked to yell at him, I’ll respect your wishes,” Phichit said, the corners of his mouth turned downward. 

“Thanks Phichit.  For everything, really.  You’re the best best friend I could ever dream of,” Yuuri leaned his cheek against Phichit’s shoulder, and Phichit responded by laying his head on top of Yuuri’s.

“Right back at you, buddy.  You’re too good for him.”

~*~

Viktor sat on his bed with his legs crossed and stared at his phone.  His laptop was next to him, opened to a Skype call with Chris.  Chris had given Viktor a day to feel sorry for himself, and for Yuuri, but now he was making him try to fix things, even if he had to drag him through it kicking and screaming.

“He never wants to talk to me again, Chris,” Viktor groaned.  “So I don’t see _why_ I need to talk to Phichit, who probably wants to talk to me even less than Yuuri does.  They’ve probably both blocked my number already.  Let me mourn in peace.”

“You never know unless you try,” Chris said, adamant.  “Text him.”

“Can’t you text him?  You have his number from Spares Night,” Viktor asked for the hundredth time. 

“We’ve been over this Viktor.  It’ll mean a lot more coming from you than from me, you know that,” Chris told him and Viktor pursed his lips.

“I’m scared to,” Viktor admitted. 

“I know, Viktor.  I would be, too.  But you’ve gotta do it if you want to save what you have with Yuuri.  You want him in your life, right?” Chris asked, gentle but stern.

“Yes, more than anything.”

“Then text Phichit.”

**To: Phichit**

**From: Viktor**

**Hello Phichit.  This is Viktor.  I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now, but can I please call you?  I know I messed up badly and hurt Yuuri, but that’s the last thing I wanted to do.  I promise this is all a terrible misunderstanding.**

Viktor sent the message with a shiver of dread and awaited the response.  He didn’t need to wait long.   He read the whole conversation aloud to Chris to keep him in the loop.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Phichit**

**Ummmm I would want to talk to you why????  Why should I listen to you after what you did to Yuuri?  And WHY would you text ME not HIM if you actually cared?!**

**To: Phichit**

**From: Viktor**

**I wanted to respect his boundaries if he didn’t want to talk to me yet.  Or at all.  I figured I could explain things to you and you could ask Yuuri if he wanted to talk to me.  Please hear me out, Phichit.  From one of Yuuri’s friends to another, please let me explain what happened.**

**To: Viktor**

**From: Phichit**

**I’m not sure you can call yourself Yuuri’s friend right now but whatever.  I’ll talk to you.  Make it speedy.**

The bit about not being Yuuri’s friend stung, but relief still washed over Viktor when Phichit assented to the call.

“You can do it, Vitya!” Chris encouraged when Viktor placed the call, setting it to speaker so they could both hear.

“Hello,” Phichit said, terse.  He had picked up the phone so fast it almost surprised Viktor.  The sharpness of his voice was out of character considering Viktor couldn’t recall interacting with Phichit when his mood was anything but cheerful and perky.  No doubt he’d never heard him be anywhere close to this frosty before.

“Hello Phichit.  Thank you for agreeing to listen,” Viktor said, realizing that he must have sounded quite nervous. 

“Don’t thank me yet,” Phichit snorted.  “Say what you want to say.  I haven’t got all day here.”

“Okay,” Viktor took a deep breath.  “It’s true that I lied to Yuuri.  But I didn’t do it for a bad reason.  I accidentally wound up in some model horse tag on Instagram while I was looking for something else, and I stumbled upon one of Yuuri’s selfies.  I wound up looking through his account and I really wanted to talk to him.  After I saw one of his live streams, I _knew_ I wanted to talk to him.”

“Why?” Phichit asked, sounding much more interested than he had moments before.

“Why did I want to talk to him?”  Viktor was confused, and then alarmed.  On no uncertain terms did he want to tell _Phichit_ that he liked Yuuri.  No doubt in that scenario, Yuuri would find out almost immediately and Viktor didn’t want that.  He needed to say that himself, assuming Yuuri ever wanted to speak to him again.  “I dunno, I just um, knew that we’d get along really well.  I could tell that we’d be friends.”

“Mhmmm,” Phichit hummed, knowingly.  Somehow even though he couldn’t see him, Viktor knew Phichit was listening much more attentively now.

“I wanted a conversation starter so that’s when I lied about the model horses.  And then he wanted to _see_ them so I got Chris to go find a bunch and send them to me, and viola, I had a collection.  See, I never did it for a bad reason or to hurt Yuuri!  Honestly, I actually really like my collection now because of all the fun I’ve had with Yuuri, so even though it started as a lie it isn’t one now,” Viktor explained, praying that Phichit would accept what had happened as fact.

“I believe you, Viktor,” Phichit said, and sighed. “But you were still an idiot.  _Why’d_ you have to spring it on him like that?  After what happened to him in high school you had to know that telling him like you did would bring up bad memories.”

“Something happened?  What was it?” Viktor asked, feeling his heart grow heavy.  He hated the thought of anyone being nasty to Yuuri, and it sounded like that was what had happened. 

“Oh shoot, you didn’t know?  No wonder, otherwise you never would have pulled a stunt like that.  Well, that’s not really my business to tell you, Viktor.  Yuuri can tell you if he wants to,” Phichit said.  “Look, I’ll talk to him and tell him that this was all a big, stupid mix up and then he can contact you.  If he’d like to, that is.”

“Thank you _so_ much Phichit,” Viktor said, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders.

“I care about Yuuri a lot, Viktor, and honestly I know you do, too.  And you mean a lot to him, so hopefully this works out, yeah?  I need to go to class, but I’ll talk to him as soon as I get home,” Phichit said.  “Bye bye, Viktor.”

“Good bye, and thanks again Phichit,” Viktor said as he hung up the phone.

“Well that went a lot better than I expected,” Chris mused.

“I thought you said it would be fine!” Viktor pouted.

“It is true that I figured it would be fine in the end, but I thought Phichit would give you more of a run for your money.  I don’t think he takes kindly to people messing with Yuuri.  Which, to be fair I completely understand because I’m the same way with you,” Chris explained and Viktor nodded, thoughtful.

“At this point, though, it’s still up to Yuuri if he wants to talk,” Viktor said, carding a hand through Makkachin’s fur since she’d joined him on the bed at some point during the phone call.

“I bet he will,” Chris said.  “You just need to have faith in him.”

~*~

“Yuuuuuri, I’m home,” Phichit said in his usual sing song voice as he traipsed into the apartment.

“Welcome back, Phichit,” Yuuri said, managing a small smile.  He was curled up on the couch with a movie on and some of his model horse tack making supplies spread before him on the coffee table.  The plan had been to finish the dressage saddle set he was working on for an upcoming photo show, but he hadn’t been able to find the motivation for that, or much of anything really.  He was just glad that he’d had the day off because he didn’t think he’d have been very useful at the library either.

“So, um, I talked to Viktor,” Phichit ventured, plopping himself down on the couch with Yuuri and stealing half his blanket.

“Phichit,” Yuuri groaned.  Even though he knew Phichit must have only had the best intentions, Yuuri was still mad that he had ignored his wishes.  “I thought I _told_ you not to talk to him.  I handled it myself, so you didn’t need to get involved.”

“Well, he called _me,_ ” Phichit said.  “I didn’t reach out to him first, he contacted me.”

“Why didn’t he call _me_ then?” Yuuri groused, his misplaced annoyance at Phichit rapidly replaced by his annoyance at Viktor.

“He said he wanted to respect your wishes if you didn’t want to talk to him, so he wanted to talk to me first,” Phichit explained and Yuuri nodded.  _Well, I guess I can’t argue with that logic, even though I do wish he’d gone straight to me._ “Yuuri, he’s very sorry, and after talking to him, I really don’t think he meant any harm.  His reasons all made sense, and I believe him when he says that it was all a misunderstanding.”

“He still _lied_ to me,” Yuuri said, playing with the draw string on his hoodie. 

“But he didn’t do it for the reason you think he did.  Yuuri, he doesn’t know about what happened to you in high school, right?  There’s no _way_ that he could have known how it would sound to you.  That doesn’t mean he wasn’t an idiot, but I genuinely don’t believe he was doing it to be a jerk,” Phichit said.

“Alright, I’ll talk to him,” Yuuri said, digging his phone out from between the couch cushions and firing off a text to Viktor, asking him to come over as soon as possible so they could discuss what had happened. 

~*~

Viktor shuffled from foot to foot on the landing, unable to quite get up the nerve to knock.  Someone had already buzzed him in the front door, but standing outside of the actual apartment was intimidating in the extreme.  He assumed that Yuuri was likely to forgive him given that he was willing to meet with him, but what if Yuuri didn’t want to?  He shifted his weight side to side again, hand hovering in the air six inches before the door.  At last, he forced himself to bring his fist against the wood. 

Yuuri was the one to open the door.  He looked tired, but he still attempted a smile to greet Viktor.  It didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“Come in, Viktor.  I’m making hot chocolate and I need to keep stirring,” Yuuri gestured for Viktor to step inside, and then he immediately returned to the kitchen.  “Phichit’s not home.  He’s at a study group,” Yuuri supplied and Viktor just nodded, trailing into the kitchen once his shoes and jacket were removed.

Viktor perched on the edge of a chair at the kitchen table as he watched Yuuri working away at making the hot chocolate.  He couldn’t help but be impressed that Yuuri made it from scratch without a packet, but then again Viktor would have been surprised if he did it any other way.

“Yuuri, I am so, so sorry.  For everything.  For lying to you about collecting, and for just telling you out of nowhere like I did.  If you’d let me, I’d like to explain myself.  Please,” Viktor said, wishing he could see Yuuri’s face.

“I’m sorry, too.  I should have given you the chance to explain things before I jumped to the worst possible conclusion and ran off,” Yuuri said, turning to face Viktor with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, heaped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  He joined Viktor at the table and slid one of the mugs across to him.  “And of course I’ll let you explain, if you let me explain some things, too.  I’ll start, if that’s okay.”

Viktor nodded and clasped his hands around the toasty ceramic mug, settling in to listen to whatever Yuuri had to tell him.

“You already know about how I first got into model horses with my uncle bringing them back for me from the United States, right? Well that went on for quite a while, and once I started high school it really started to become a hobby for me rather than just toys. With a combination of the English classes I took in school letting me read more about it, and having more access to the internet, I started to realize the extent of the hobby. I started to participate in the online side of things. Since I wasn’t very confident in my English at that point, I mostly read what others posted on forums and message boards rather than offer my own thoughts. And of course I started to buy more horses online.

One way I did participate though was photo shows, since that didn’t require much talking other than the email to send in the entries. Still, it wasn’t enough. I saw all these pictures of other hobbyists having fun at events like Breyerfest and live shows and meeting up with each other to make tack or paint customs. As much as I was having fun doing the hobby by myself, it seemed like they were having so much _more_ fun. I wanted to have friends like that, too.”

Viktor nodded, engrossed in the picture that Yuuri was painting for him.  He could imagine high school Yuuri browsing through sites in English and wishing that the main part of his hobby wasn’t an ocean away.

“So one day when I was in my first year of high school, I was going through a new Breyer catalog at lunch. I was pouring over photos of the new models when one of the boys from my class approached me. He was part of a group of boys that I didn’t necessarily trust or like because I’d seen them not being particularly nice to some of my classmates. They’d never bothered me, though. Anyway, he expressed a lot of interest in the catalog and we spent the rest of lunch going over it together, and I did my best to explain the model horse hobby to him. At first I was a little suspicious because of who he was friends with, but he seemed so genuinely intrigued that I decided he must not be such a bad guy. This went on for a few days, and I brought new catalogs to show him. I was so excited because I finally thought that I would be able to have someone to talk about my horses and do hobby stuff with _in person._ At the end of the school week, he asked if we could meet up in the park the next day, and if I could bring one of my horses so he could see it in person. Of course I agreed. I decided to bring my Black Stallion model because he was definitely one of the coolest horses I had at that point, especially since my collection was still pretty small then,” Yuuri explained, pausing to take a long sip of his hot chocolate.

Viktor’s heart clenched in his chest when he remembered seeing the exact model that Yuuri was talking about. It was the one with the broken leg, the one that Yuuri had avoided talking about the first day Viktor had seen his collection.

“I was so excited to show him the model that I handed it over to him almost right away when I got to the park. For a minute, things were great. He asked a bunch of questions and complimented the Black Stallion, but then his facial expression changed so he was kind of smirking, and I started to get worried. Then he said, ‘Say, I have one more question. He’s pretty cool, but can he _fly_?’ and I heard snickering coming from the bushes near us. That’s when I knew his friends were all there watching and the whole thing had been a trick. He threw the horse high in the air, and it landed on the pavement, which is how the leg broke. Honestly it’s amazing that more damage wasn’t done beyond the busted leg and the scratches,” Yuuri said with a sigh, and Viktor couldn’t help but gasp. “Rather than spend any time looking for the missing leg, I just grabbed my horse and ran all the way home since I didn’t want to stick around to see what they were planning next, or to listen to any of the nasty things that they were yelling at me. I was absolutely devastated. I felt betrayed and embarrassed. For the next two weeks, I could barely stand to look at my horses because all I could think of was what he had done. Even after I was finally able to enjoy them again, that whole thing in the park is what made me so secretive about my collection. To this day, I’m terrified of most people finding out about it because I don’t want something bad to happen again. So that’s why I got so upset when you told me that you’d been lying about collecting them. It just hit a little bit too close to home, I guess,” Yuuri finished.

 “Oh God, Yuuri that’s _terrible,_ ” Viktor said.  “I can’t believe they did that to you.  And I am so, so, so sorry for bringing up bad memories.  I never meant to, I promise.”

“It was a long time ago,” Yuuri shrugged.  “It still stings, but it’s in the past.  Now it’s your turn to tell me what you wanted to say.”

Viktor took a deep breath and started his own narrative.

“Okay.  The day I found your account, I accidentally wound up in the model horse tag on Instagram when I was looking for something else.  I’d never seen anything like it, so I spent a while scrolling through it, and that’s when I saw that selfie you took.  I thought you were really cute,” Viktor blushed as he said the word, especially when he saw Yuuri’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.  “So I obviously wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t know how to approach you.  When I commented about having my own collection during your live stream, things sort of just spiraled from there.  Before I knew it, I had Chris running around Germany buying horses for me and I was researching like a fiend, but since I liked talking to you so much it was all worthwhile.  And then when we were lucky enough to meet in person, I kept the charade up.  But the thing is, I really _do_ enjoy the horses.  I think they’re pretty and interesting and I like looking at the ones I have on my shelf.  Granted, I’m not sure it’s a hobby that I’d do on my own, but I really love doing it with you.  Still, I felt like I had to tell you the truth because I was starting to feel awful that everything between us was built on my crazy fib, and I didn’t want to do that to you because… because, Yuuri, I _really_ like you.  As in, I _like_ you.  In that way.  A lot.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho ho ho ho ;)  
>  Wow writing an angsty chapter felt really weird, but now we'll be back to your regularly scheduled rom-com programming~  
> Sorry for the gap in updates! It's the end of the outdoor season for (real horse) horse shows, and I also had a model horse show that I needed to do LOTS of prep for! It wound up being quite successful, though, and 8 of my model horses are now qualified for Nationals (Plus I earned 2 championship rosettes and a rosette for winning the 'Bridesmaid Challenge' for getting the most third place ribbons haha). And the semester started so I have been buuuusy haha. But I'm back!! Honestly I write MORE during the semester than during the summer because I like to write while I'm commuting to my college on the train. So hopefully we won't have any more big update gaps.
> 
> As usual, comments absolutely make my entire day so please tell me what you think of the chapter! Constructive criticism is more than welcome, too. So drop me a line and tell me your thoughts! You can also reach me on tumblr @haircut-named-arthur or on Twitter @pennylanewrites 
> 
> ALSO! I'm applying for a zine, and I want to submit a chapter of this fic as part of my writing sample, so please tell me which chapter or scene is your favorite to help me decide!
> 
> If you want to check out my model horse Instagram (which has some photos from my model horse show on it, with more on the way), you can find that @pennylanestables
> 
> As usual, thank you for being absolutely lovely! You all are the best!!! See you next time! <3


	10. Don't Leave Me in Suspense!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Yuuri react to Viktor's love confession?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yahoo! Chapter 10 is done! This was a fun one to work on so I hope that you like it!
> 
> Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy~

Viktor almost couldn’t believe that he’d just confessed to Yuuri.

And he _definitely_ couldn’t believe that Yuuri was just sitting across from him blinking. _Was Chris wrong?_ _Impossible!_ _Was_ I _wrong?_ _I know he’s not always easy to read but I thought for sure that he felt… something,_ Viktor restrained his building panic. His heart skittered in his chest. He cursed how specific that he’d been, now there was no way he could reasonably brush off what he had said as anything other than a confession of his feelings. As the awkward silence built to a crescendo, Viktor grabbed his mug of hot chocolate and chugged it to buy himself time. He hadn’t accounted for the fact that it was called _hot_ chocolate for a reason and wound up spluttering on the scalding drink. Yuuri burst into laughter.

Now it was Viktor’s turn to stare at Yuuri with a blank expression.  Yuuri was absolutely howling before too long and Viktor could practically feel his mind frizzling as he tried to figure out what in the hell was going on.  _He’s… laughing?  What does that mean?  Good? Bad?  Something…?_

“Here, you got whipped cream on your nose,” Yuuri chuckled, reaching across the table to swipe his thumb across Viktor’s nose.  Viktor blinked at him.  “Oh boy, I scared you didn’t I?”

“Wh-what?” Viktor asked, still trying and failing to figure out Yuuri’s feelings.

“I feel the same way, Viktor.  I like you a lot, too,” Yuuri smiled, expression softer now.

“Why didn’t you _say_ so then!  I thought you were _rejecting_ me!” Viktor wailed, feeling more relieved than he ever had before.  He leaned his elbows onto the table and ran his hands back through his hair

“I was just getting a little revenge is all,” Yuuri smirked.

“You almost just gave me _heart failure_ is all,” Viktor quipped back and Yuuri laughed again. He reached out and took Viktor’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. Viktor’s heart thumped when he realized how soft and warm Yuuri’s hand felt clasped around his. It was even better than he could have imagined it would be.

 “Well, I mean all library employees are trained in CPR soooo,” Yuuri said and looked very pleased with himself when Viktor turned bright red.  He stood up, and pulled Viktor along with him.  “Really though Viktor, joking aside, I am _so_ happy.  Really.”  Going on tip toe to account for the height difference, Yuuri rested his forehead against Viktor’s. 

Viktor had never gotten such a close a look at Yuuri’s eyes, and he couldn’t quite believe how beautiful they were, especially when they were looking right at _him_ like that. His thick eyelashes just barely brushed against the lenses of his glasses, and his deep brown eyes sparkled even behind the glass. Unable to resist, Viktor raised a hand and ran it over the curve of Yuuri’s cheek bone. Yuuri leaned into his touch as Viktor's thumb traced the contours of his face.

 “I’m really happy, too, Yuuri,” Viktor breathed, admiring Yuuri’s eyes for another second before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Yuuri’s.  Surprised, Yuuri’s breath hitched for half a second before he returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around Viktor’s torso. 

_Just a few hours ago I thought he’d never speak to me,_ Viktor thought, _and now we’re_ here _and it’s wonderf-_

Viktor’s thought was interrupted by the clicking sound of someone taking a picture on a phone. 

“Oh _shoot_!  The sound was on!”

Startled, Viktor and Yuuri broke the kiss and twisted to see Phichit peeking around the entryway to the kitchen, looking bashful.

“Phichit!”  Yuuri admonished.  “You can’t just sneak up and take photos of people!"

“Surprise?” Phichit said, shrugging.  “So, I mean, I just got your first kiss on camera so you should _probably_ thank me for that?  And also, _I KNEW IT!!!_ ”

~*~

Yuuri felt like he was in a daze.  Earlier that day, he’d been convinced that Viktor’s friendship had all been some terrible ruse designed to make him feel like a moron, and now he’d just finished kissing him right in the middle of his kitchen.

_I kissed Viktor,_ Yuuri thought, and brushed his fingers over his lips, not entirely convinced that what had just happened wasn’t some bizarre dream.  _Well, I guess Viktor kissed me would be more accurate since he was the one that started it, but_ still. 

“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” Phichit crowed, dancing around the kitchen.  “From the _second_ Viktor sent you that DM on Instagram, I _knew it_!”  He gave a gleeful laugh and spun on his heel.

“What do you mean you knew it?” Viktor pouted, sticking his lower lip out slightly.  “I thought I was being subtle.”

“ _Subtle_!” Phichit cackled.  “Oh boy, Viktor!  That’s a good one!  Subtle!”

“Well I for one had absolutely no idea,” Yuuri said, and it was the truth.  “This took me totally by surprise.”

“Um, no offense Yuuri, but you’re like _suuuuuuuper_ oblivious,” Phichit said, boosting himself up so he was sitting on the counter. “It was painfully obvious that you two were obsessed with each other so waiting for you to realize it was mutual was pretty much torture for me. I don’t even know how I survived,” Phichit said with a shake of his head as he ladled himself a mug of hot chocolate from the pot on the stove.

 “Why didn’t you say something then!”  Yuuri exclaimed.  He was rather amazed that he was even able to string words together in a coherent fashion because all he could think about was the way that Viktor’s mouth had tasted like peppermint.

“Jeez, Yuuri.  I can’t just run around telling you everything.  You need to figure that kind of thing out by _yourself._ Anyway, it’s not like I didn’t give you fifteen million hints,” Phichit groaned, “As your best friend I owed it to you to let you figure it out by yourself.”

“That’s fair,” Viktor supplied, and Yuuri gave a shiver of excitement as Viktor hooked an arm around his waist.  “By the way, Phichit, could you please text me those pictures?”

“If you want them to send to Chris I’ve already taken care of that for you,” Phichit giggled.  “But I’ll send ‘em to you anyway because they’re soooo cute!”

“But _I_ was going to send them to him as a surprise,” Viktor groused and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh.  He put his own arm around Viktor’s waist and reveled in the feeling of it.  Ever since he’d first met Viktor, he’d dreamed of being able to do something like that, but it wasn’t a dream any longer.  It was blissfully, remarkably real.  He laughed again because he felt downright bubbly.  All his stress about how he thought Viktor was tricking him had melted away into nothing and had been replaced by a sense of elation that crackled through his veins like an electric current.

“Let me have my fun, Viktor,” Phichit said and drummed his heels against the cabinet door.  Usually Yuuri would reprimand him for doing that, but at the moment Yuuri couldn’t have cared less about whether Phichit kicked the cabinet or not.  He started to say something else, but then his phone started to ring.  “Ooooo look who we have here!  And on Facetime no less!”

“ _Phichit!_ Oh my God, please tell me that’s not Photohopped,” Chris’ voice filled the small kitchen as Phichit cranked the volume up on his phone.  “If it is I’ll have to fly to Japan and kill you for getting my hopes up like that.”

“Nope!” Phichit said, popping the ‘p’ sound and grinning.  “See for yourself.”  He turned his phone and Yuuri found himself face to face, or rather face to phone screen with Viktor’s best friend.

Chris looked just as excited as Phichit had when he saw Yuuri and Viktor with their arms linked around each other’s waists.  His bright green eyes lit up and he gave a cheer.

“Oh _thank God_!”  Chris shouted.  “It’s about _time_!”

“That’s what I said!”  Phichit shrieked. 

“You _both_ knew?” Yuuri asked, laughing.  He kind of felt like he should have been annoyed about things, but he was so happy that he couldn’t have been mad even if he’d tried.

“You both _talked_ about it?” Viktor added, sounding startled.

“Yes and yes,” Chris said.  “How could we not, really?  Once we both got to see you two in action at Spares Night it was so obvious what was going on.  So naturally once we were acquainted with each other we _had_ to compare notes, see?  You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

“I guess I’m still surprised that we seemed that obvious to you guys?”  Yuuri said, making his words sound more like a question than a statement.  Clearly, he had told Phichit about his crush, but he thought that he’d done a pretty good job of keeping it from being too clear whenever he was around Viktor.  At least he’d tried.

“Yuuri, sweetheart, even someone who had never seen you before would have been able to tell you were absolutely smitten with Viktor,” Phichit teased, and Chris laughed again.

“Same goes for you Viktor.  What’s amazing is that both of you somehow managed not to pick up on each other’s signals for so long.  It’s weirdly impressive in a way,” Chris mused.  “But you two _must_ be perfect for each other because you’re the two most oblivious people this side of the known universe.”

“I’m not oblivious!” Yuuri said.  He tried to sound grumpy but still wound up laughing.  On cloud nine, almost everything seemed funny.

“To be fair, Yuuri isn’t always oblivious,” Phichit supplied.  “He can be very intuitive, but apparently not when it comes to crushes and stuff like that.”

“ _Thank_ you, Phichit,” Yuuri said even though he wasn’t too certain that he’d been complimented.

“Unfortunately I can’t say that for Viktor.  He’s _always_ this bad,” Chris howled.

“Hey!  Am _not_!  And to think you call yourself my best friend!”

~*~

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Viktor**

**Are you free this evening?~**

Yuuri couldn’t help but break into a smile when he opened the text.  He was at work, but since there was almost nobody in the library, he didn’t think it was such a big deal if he checked his phone.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri**

**I am!**

As usual, Viktor’s response was prompt.

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Viktor**

**Splendid!  I’ll pick you up at work around 6 then?**

Yuuri replied in the affirmative, and Viktor’s next reply made his heart give a pleasant thump.

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Viktor**

**Fantastic.  It’s a date.  I’ll see you then~**

“Oooo Yuuri! What are you so smiley about?” Yuuko teased. Of all Yuuri’s coworkers, she was the closest in age to him, plus they’d gone to the same school as kids. A while ago, before she’d gotten married and had children, Yuuri had actually harbored a pretty intense secret crush on her. For a long time, even after the crush had faded, he’d wondered what would have happened if he had gotten the courage to tell her how he felt before she was with her husband. Once he’d met Viktor, though, he’d found himself not really thinking about that at all any more.

 “Nothing Yuuko,” Yuuri said, maybe a little too quickly.  Even though they were pretty close, he hadn’t told her about Viktor yet because he knew every librarian in the place would be all over him with a million questions once they found out he was with someone, especially someone as attractive as Viktor.

“You’re blushing!  I bet it’s a date, huh?  Who’s the lucky suitor?”  Yuuko wiggled her eyebrows at him and giggled.

“A _date_? Oh, Yuuri sweetheart, do tell!” Minako chimed in, intrigued by the possibility of some gossip to break up the tedium of the day. Yuuri also knew her quite well, as she was a close friend of his family. He had always viewed her as more or less of an aunt.

 “ _Not_ a date!” Yuuri protested, but felt himself blushing harder.

“The Yuuri doth protest too much, methinks,” Yuuko laughed.  “C’mon, Yuuri, you’re an awful liar!  Just go ahead and tell us,”

“Don’t bring Shakespeare into this, Yuuko,” Yuuri buried his head in his arms.  He could already tell that it was too late and that he’d have to spill, but he still wanted to postpone the inevitable.

“Why shouldn’t I bring Shakespeare into this?  So far as I’m concerned you can bring Shakespeare into everything.  Now you’re just trying to change the subject.  Who’s the hot date, Yuuri?”  Yuuko pressed.  “This is _so_ much more interesting than the usual library gossip.”

“It is,” Minako nodded with such eagerness that several locks of her hair pulled free of her ponytail.

 “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.  It is a date,” Yuuri said, smiling a little when he heard how the words sounded out loud.  _A date with Viktor._ Even though he knew Viktor liked him back now it was still an exciting, and almost surreal, prospect.

“A date with _who_?” Yuuko asked rolling closer to Yuuri in her spinny office chair. 

“Now you’re just being pushy,” Yuuri scolded and shook his head. 

“Yuuuuuuuuuuri,” Yuuko whined.

“I’d like to know, too,” Minako said.  “It’s not every day that our Yuuri has a secret date.”

Realizing that he’d been beaten, Yuuri sighed and decided to show them a photo rather than listen to them hounding him for the rest of the day. He scrolled through his phone and found a cute selfie that Viktor had taken of the two of them the day before. It was taken shortly after they had confessed to each other. Both men looked aglow with happiness as they posed with their cheeks pressed together.

 “Here,” Yuuri said, passing the phone to Yuuko and Minako.

“Awww look at you two!  You’re so cute!” Yuuko squealed. 

“He’s so _handsome_ Yuuri.  That’s quite a catch,” Minako agreed.

“Hang on!  Wait a second.  Yuuri, that’s not the guy who does all those advertisements and is always in fashion magazines, is it?  His name is Viktor something-or-other.  The Russian guy,” Yuuko asked, studying the photograph on Yuuri’s phone with an intent expression. 

“That does look like him.  Wasn’t he in that cologne ad that was so popular last Spring?  Viktor Nikiforov, isn’t that the name?” Minako wondered aloud and Yuuko nodded with vigor. 

Yuuri blinked at both of them and tried to stop his jaw from dropping open.  He knew that Viktor was a successful model, but he didn’t realize that he was successful to the point that random people would be able to identify who he was.  Looking back, he supposed that he had thought Viktor seemed a bit familiar to him when he first saw the photos, but certainly not to the point that he could recall specific advertisements that he’d been in or anything.  Then again, Yuuri didn’t really pay attention to that kind of stuff all that much because he was so wrapped up in his hobby and work and all, but _still._

“Oh my gosh, Yuuri!  You’re dating an internationally successful male model?  How could you not tell us sooner!” Yuuko shrieked and shook Yuuri’s arm.  “That _is_ him, right?”

“Well, um.  Yes, I suppose it is,” Yuuri said, still somewhat amazed.

“Didn’t you know, Yuuri?” Minako asked with a good-natured laugh.

“Well, I did.  But I guess I didn’t realize just how popular he was,” Yuuri said after a moment of consideration.  It did make sense, though.  Whenever he was out in public with Viktor, he did notice people attempting to snap surreptitious pictures of him, but he had assumed it was just because people thought he was very good looking.  Now he knew that it was actually because Viktor was well-known.  It was an odd realization.

“Yuuri, I’ve even seen people make memes of him on social media,” Yuuko said, fishing her phone out of her pocket and searching something on the internet.  “See?”

It was a picture of Viktor winking at a camera with a flirty expression on his face captioned _Have you ever seen a man so beautiful you just started crying?_

“Oh wow,” was all that Yuuri could come up with.  _People are making memes of my boyfriend?_ He blushed a little calling Viktor his boyfriend, even though it had only been in his head.

“Geez, Yuuri!  Only you could be dating an international sensation and not even realize it!”  Minako teased.  Before anyone could say anything else, activity in the library picked up quite a bit and everyone was too busy checking out books and answering questions to do much else.

_Viktor is an international sensation,_ Yuuri mused. It was interesting to think about. Well, he wasn’t exactly surprised that Viktor was a popular model because he was completely stunning to look at, but Yuuri didn’t think Viktor really _acted_ like a celebrity. Or at least what Yuuri thought celebrities must act like. To him, Viktor was sweet and funny and got carried away easily. He got way too excited about weird things and didn’t think his plans through. Heck, when Yuuri really thought about it, Viktor was actually a total dork. A dork that happened to be really pretty and was _really, really_ good at acting cool when he had to, anyway. Before Viktor had gotten comfortable with him, which had happened pretty quickly, Yuuri had seen the “cool” Viktor in action. As appealing as that Viktor could be, he had to say that he liked _his_ Viktor much better because his Viktor was without a doubt the real one. Yuuri couldn’t help but smile when he thought about it.

During slow spells, Yuuko and Minako kept Yuuri busy with millions of questions ranging from how they met to how Viktor was in person. Yuuri needed to keep many answers vague since quite a bit of the story involved his horses and no one at work knew about them and he wanted to keep it that way. Granted, Yuuko knew that he’d done it in high school before he’d made a secret of it, but he knew that she assumed that he’d lost interest somewhere along the line. He didn’t think he’d mind Yuuko or Minako knowing, but it was just easier if no one at the library knew about the horses at all. Yuuri was so occupied with their rapid fire interrogation that he didn’t realize that the clock was marching closer and closer to closing time at the library.

 “Yuuri!”

Yuuri, Yuuko, and Minako all snapped their heads around in time to see Viktor strolling in to the library with a broad smile. 

“I’m sorry I’m a little early, but I’d never been inside here before and I wanted to see where you worked,” Viktor explained, coming right up and leaning his elbows on the desk like he was right at home in the library.

“It’s okay,” Yuuri grinned back.  He’d caught a glimpse of his coworkers shocked faces, and he’d have been lying if he said that it didn’t delight him.  He liked how impressed they were with him.  _They should be impressed,_ Yuuri thought, _Viktor really is quite special._ “Viktor, these are my coworkers, Yuuko and Minako.  Minako, Yuuko, this is my boyfriend Viktor.”

When Viktor’s eyes lit up when he heard the word “boyfriend,” it filled Yuuri with a warm glow.  Yuuri realized that he’d never called him that out loud before, but he made a mental note to do it more often since it wasn’t hard to tell how happy it made Viktor. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Viktor shook their hands with a suave smile, succeeding in making Minako blush bright red.  “What a beautiful library!  This must be a lovely place to work, no?”

“Oh, it sure is.  Especially with Yuuri,” Yuuko said.  “He’s a wonderful coworker.  You should feel pretty lucky to be dating him.”

“Yuuko,” Yuuri groaned.

“Rest assured I feel _very_ lucky that I’m dating Yuuri.  Who wouldn’t?  He’s fantastic,” Viktor reached over the counter to tap Yuuri on the nose with the tip of his finger.

“Awww you made him turn pink!” Yuuko teased.

“Why don’t you boys get an early start on your date night?” Minako offered.  “It’s about time to lock up, and Yuuko and I can handle that ourselves, can’t we?”

“Absolutely!” Yuuko bobbed her head.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to take Yuuri away from you too soon.  It’s my fault for showing up so early,” Viktor said.  “I don’t mind waiting.”

“Oh hush, go have fun.  Surely we can spare him for a little while,” Minako winked, and Viktor required no further prompting to whisk Yuuri out of the library as they both waved their goodbyes.

“So what do you say to crepes?  I’m in a dessert first mood tonight,” Viktor said, grasping Yuuri’s hand in his and swinging their arms as they walked down the street.

“I think you’re always in a dessert first mood, Viktor,” Yuuri laughed.

“Fair enough.  I usually don’t indulge it, though.  But since we made this a date, why not?  Let’s have some fun.  Minako told us to, right?  I don’t want to be on her bad side,” Viktor said, giving Yuuri’s fingers a light squeeze.  “She seems like she could be a little scary.”

“Very true.  Crepes it is then,” Yuuri squeezed Viktor’s fingers right back.

~*~

Viktor hummed as he strolled along with Yuuri hand in hand.  He felt like he was walking on air ever since Yuuri had called him his _boyfriend_ , and said it out loud with other people around at that.  With a little shiver of pleasure at the memory, Viktor took a moment to look at Yuuri and broke into a wide smile all over again.  _How did I ever get this lucky?  This doesn’t even feel real._

“Yuuri, what kind of crepes do you like?” Viktor asked.

“I’m partial to strawberries and whipped cream myself,” Yuuri said.

“So you like them sweet, just like you!” Viktor bumped his shoulder against Yuuri’s and the other man laughed.

“God, Viktor, that was so corny,” Yuuri said in a light, teasing voice and leaned his head against Viktor’s shoulder as they walked.  The action sent a ripple of electricity through Viktor’s frame.  He could remember when he first met Yuuri, and how reluctant Yuuri had been for Viktor to touch him.  Things couldn’t be more different now.  Viktor loved it.

“I know it was.  How do you feel about matcha ice cream with your crepes?” 

“Well I certainly wouldn’t say no to it,” Yuuri replied.

“Good, because that’s my favorite,” Viktor smiled as they approached the crepe shop he had in mind.  “Look, here we are.  After you, darling.”  He held the door open and reveled at the way Yuuri’s cheeks flushed at the pet name.  It was an adorable shop, with a pastel interior and lots of cute decorations everywhere. “The crepes they serve here are massive, do you want to share one?”

“Sure thing,” Yuuri agreed, standing even closer to Viktor because the crepe shop was quite tiny and there the tables were already filled with customers.  Seizing the opportunity when it presented itself, Viktor threw an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders, and Yuuri returned the gesture by hooking his arm around Viktor’s waist.  Viktor sighed happily.

“One strawberry and whipped cream crepe please, and would it be possible to add matcha ice cream to that?” Viktor asked once they reached the front of the line.

“Absolutely.  Will that be cash or card?”

“Card, please,” Viktor replied, digging his wallet out of his coat pocket.

“Viktor, let me at least pay for half,” Yuuri said, searching for his own wallet.

“Nope!  Date night was my idea so I’m paying.  You can get it next time if you’d like, but tonight it’s on me,” Viktor said, handing over his credit card before Yuuri had a chance to object.

“You’re impossible,” Yuuri laughed, shaking his head as Viktor took the crepe and they walked out of the shop.  It was a nice night, so there was no reason to stay cooped up inside the crepe shop, no matter how cute it was.

“I know I am,” Viktor laughed back.  “But that’s half the fun isn’t it?”  He took a bite of the crepe as they walked.  The matcha ice cream was a perfect combination with Yuuri’s choice of strawberries and whipped cream.  Viktor didn’t think that he’d ever order a crepe any other way now given the choice. 

“If you say so,” Yuuri joked, arm still wrapped around Viktor’s waist as they walked.  It was a pleasant night.  The spring air still had a slight nip to it, but it was warm enough that it was comfortable to be out in only a light jacket.  It seemed like the whole city was out in the beautiful weather as the streets were crowded with families and couples and friends all enjoying the evening together.  Viktor’s soul felt light as he and Yuuri made their way down the busy street, sharing their crepe back and forth.

“Here, this looks like a good bite.  You take it,” Viktor said, holding the crepe in its pink paper cone out to Yuuri.  Yuuri looked like he was going to try and make Viktor have it, but Viktor was stubborn.  “No, I insist.  I want you to have it.”

Rather than reply, Yuuri just smiled at Viktor and took the bite.  Viktor’s heart fluttered when he saw the way that Yuuri’s eyes sparkled in the glow of the street lights.

“Yuuri, you got chocolate sauce on your face,” Viktor said, pointing at Yuuri’s lower lip.  _Oh gosh, that’s so cuuuuuuuute!!  And he doesn’t even realize it!_

“Oh shoot,” Yuuri giggled and went to wipe it away.

“Hang on, let me,” Viktor said, moving out of the path of travel on the sidewalk so the way wouldn’t be blocked.  “Can I kiss you?”

“Of course.”

Viktor cupped Yuuri’s chin in his free hand and leaned in to kiss Yuuri.  _He’s so beautiful,_ Viktor thought as Yuuri looked up to meet his eyes, a slight smile playing around his lips and his eyes shining.  As their lips met Viktor didn’t think that there was anywhere else in the universe that he’d have rather been at that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked reading that as much as I liked writing it! Hopefully that was worth the cliff hanger!!
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who suggested scenes to include in my application for the zine! Unfortunately I didn't make it in this time, but that's okay! I definitely plan on applying to more zines. That being said, if you see/ know of any YOI (or really any other sports anime) zines that are looking for writers as well as artists, please let me know so I can apply for them! Also, I wrote two YOI one shots for my application, so please check those out if you'd like. One is a Viktuuri one, and one is Phichuuri (which can be read as either platonic or romantic depending on your preference), and they are available on this account. They are called "The Pleasure is All Mine" and "Boston Calling."
> 
> As usual, please please make sure to tell me what you thought! Comments literally make my entire day (heck, a lot of times they make my week!), so I really appreciate them. Constructive criticism is also most welcome so I can improve as a writer! You can either comment on here, or drop me a line on tumblr @haircut-named-arthur or on twitter @pennylanewrites ! Any one who wants to browse my model horse instagram account can find that @pennylanestables
> 
> Thanks again for reading! You all are honestly the best!!!!! Stay wonderful my friends, and see you next time! <3


	11. I Just Want to Go Get Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor is busy at a photoshoot even though all he wants to do is go meet Yuuri for dinner, and a new friend is introduced along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! We get to meet a new friend today (one of my underrated faves)~  
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri <3**

**Viktor!!!  They’re here!!**

Viktor opened his phone and read Yuuri’s message. He couldn’t help but wonder who “they” was. And based on Yuuri’s text, he was supposed to know.  And whoever “they” was, Yuuri was very, very excited that they had arrived. _Does he have house guests coming?_ _I feel like I’d remember that, but maybe he forgot to tell me?_ Quickly, Viktor tapped out a reply. He was doing a photoshoot to showcase a new line of suit jackets and he only had a few minutes before it was his turn to step in front of the camera again.

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor**

**I feel like I should know who “they” is but I honestly don’t.  Please enlighten me~ (and forgive me if I’ve gone and forgotten something important…)**

Even though it was hard not to, Viktor tried not to smile as he texted Yuuri.  He had to make a conscious effort to hold his face still because a makeup artist was diligently fixing his face after he smudged one of his cheeks with some very overzealous posing.  What could he say?  Viktor liked to throw himself into his job, and that was why he was so good at it, smudged makeup aside.  Lately, though, it didn’t feel as exciting as it once had.  That was why he had taken the opportunity to go to Japan, to spice things up a little.  Although Viktor’s life felt _very_ spiced up now thanks to a beautiful model horse collector, it still felt like something was… missing in his own modeling career.  Still, given Viktor’s pride in his work he refused to do anything but his best.

**To: Viktor**

**From:  Yuuri <3**

**THE JULIPS!  THE JULIP BOX IS HERE FROM ENGLAND!**

“Fan _tastic_!” Viktor said out loud, mouth curving into his usual heart-shaped grin as he punched the air with excitement. The two of them had eagerly awaited the box from the day that they ordered it, and now it was finally here. Thinking of it brought back all kinds of good memories from Spares Night. Viktor considered it to be one of the best nights of his entire life and he felt giddy just thinking about it. This was especially true since everything he had dreamed of that night had become reality.

 “Mr. Nikiforov, _please_ try not to move,” the makeup artist begged as she tried to undo the additional damage that Viktor had just done with his sudden movement.

“So sorry,” Viktor said, sheepish.  “I’ll hold still now.” The makeup artist rolled her eyes like she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe him.

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor**

**How do they look?  As cute as they did online?  Send pictures!!**

Viktor resisted the urge to wiggle in his seat as he waited for Yuuri’s reply.  There was at most a minute or two before Viktor would be put into the next jacket he was modeling and sent back out onto the set so if Yuuri didn’t reply quickly it would be too late.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri <3**

**I can’t!  I’m waiting for you to come over for dinner so we can open it together!**

Viktor wasn’t sure how he managed to keep a straight face as he read Yuuri’s message. _Sooooo cuteeeeeeeeee!_ He was half tempted to show the makeup artist the text because he _really, really_ wanted to show someone how cute Yuuri was. However, she still seemed a bit put out with him for messing up her hard work so he decided against it.  Plus she would be unlikely to get it anyway. 

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor**

**Yuuuuuuuuuri!  You’re too good to me!  It’s my turn to pose again so I need to go, but I’ll see you tonight! <3 <3 <3**

Viktor didn’t know how he wouldn’t die of impatience waiting for the photoshoot to be over. It had already been a long one involving lots of models and lots of outfit changes. The designer of the suit jackets couldn’t seem to make up his mind on who he wanted to wear what. On top of that, he was stubborn to an annoying degree when it came to listening to the photographer’s suggestions.  It wasn’t hard to see that the photographer was starting to get frustrated by the designer’s meddling. Viktor hoped that the shoot would move along for everyone’s sake.

Shrugging on the next jacket after the artist completed his makeup, Viktor admired the look in the mirror. It was a bold, yet very classy, piece of clothing, exactly the kind of thing he felt drawn to. The jacket was grey with a checked pattern of darker and lighter squares and a form fitting cut with a hint of flare around the bottom. He turned his upper body from side to side in front of the mirror, admiring how the jacket moved and planning out the best ways to highlight it with his poses. It cut a very attractive silhouette and he wanted to show it off.

 “Mr. Nikiforov, you’re up!”

Viktor squared up his shoulders and strolled on set like he owned the place.  As much as he wanted to dash off to see Yuuri, he had work to do.

~*~

“Wow,” Yuuri said, showing Phichit a Snapchat Viktor had sent him from his photoshoot.  The pair of them were hanging out at the kitchen table until Phichit had to leave to meet up with his study group.  “It looks so busy.  Viktor is lucky to have such an exciting job.”

“It’s gotta be stressful, though.  There must be a lot of pressure to do a perfect job every single time,” Phichit shrugged, giving one of his hamsters a sunflower seed so she’d stop nibbling on his shirt sleeve.  “Especially if you’re someone as well-known as Viktor.  People must have high expectations of him.”

“That’s true,” Yuuri agreed.  Phichit was right.  “He never seems to want to talk about his work, anyway.  Actually, he’s a lot more interested to hear about all the wacky library gossip.”

“To be fair, Yuuri, even if my job was wrestling alligators or something for a living, I’d still be more interested in the library gossip.  Some of the crazy drama you hear about is totally nuts.  Like what ever happened with that lady who lost her friend’s cat while she was pet sitting but bought an identical replacement cat to cover it up?  That was off the _chain,_ ” Phichit said and Yuuri laughed.

“Believe it or not, the lady whose cat got lost still hasn’t noticed she has a different cat now, AND the lady who lost it found the original cat and caught it and is now trying to figure out how to switch them out _again._  It’s wild.  Minako wants to open up a betting pool on whether it’ll be successful,” Yuuri said, enjoying Phichit’s shocked expression.  He ate up the drama.

“Well, like, tell Minako that I’m a betting man if she does end up doing that,” Phichit smirked and Yuuri shook his head and rolled his eyes in a good-natured way.

“The _last_ thing I need to do is encourage to Minako to become a bookie and run an illegal betting ring out of the library,” Yuuri chuckled at the mental image.  To be honest, he wasn’t even sure that it was all that farfetched. 

“I mean, that sounds _amazing_ so I’m pretty sure that’s _exactly_ what we should encourage,” Phichit said, standing up from the kitchen table and shrugging on his backpack. “On that note, I’m off to meet up with my study group at the pizza shop to get ready for our Psych quiz. Well, first I need to put Sugar back in her cage but yeah. Enjoy your dinner date with Viktor! Try not to get _too_ crazy opening those plastic horses, you hear?” Phichit gave Yuuri’s hair an affectionate ruffle before he stepped into his room to put away his hamster.

 “Will do!  And you, try to stay on task!  No repeats of last week where you all literally got nothing done except play the pinball machine.  And before you say it, _yes_ I know you got the high score, but that’s not the point,” Yuuri said, trying to at least sound a little stern.  The façade was ruined when Phichit stuck his tongue out on his way out the door and Yuuri burst into laughter in spite of himself.

Yuuri was glad that he didn’t have too long to wait between Phichit’s departure and Viktor’s arrival. The longer he saw that alluring brown box from Julip, the more he wanted to open it. To distract himself, Yuuri decided to text his friend Leo. He didn’t bother to try and figure out what time it was in Leo’s neck of the woods because Leo had a tendency to keep rather odd hours, so it was always worth a try. Leo was a model horse collector from Florida that Yuuri had been friends with for a few years now. Before they knew each other, people kept assuming that they were friends simply because they were both guys who collected model horses. Just the fact that they were boys tended to make them stand out given the overwhelmingly female population of the model horse community. After a few months of confusion, Leo direct messaged Yuuri on Instagram just to figure out who he was and their friendship grew from there.

**To: Leo**

**From: Yuuri**

**Hey Leo!  How’s it going?**

Leo’s response pinged in within seconds.

**To: Yuuri**

**From: Leo**

**Glad to hear from you Yuuri!  Can we facetime?  I’m painting.**

Rather than reply, Yuuri just placed the call and Leo picked up right away.

“Yuuri!  What’s up?” Leo grinned.  He was a little bit younger than Yuuri, with longish brown hair and a relaxed smile.  At the moment, his face was also splattered with paint in a variety of horse-y shades.

“It just felt like we hadn’t talked in a while,” Yuuri said, returning Leo’s smile.  “How’s it going with you?”

“I’m already up to my ears in Breyerfest prep and it’s still a ways away!  So as you can see, I’m prepping at weird times.  I’ve been working on sales pieces like crazy on top of my usual commissioned models, not to mention my entry for the Best Customs Contest!  That’s what I’m doing now.  Want a sneak peek?”  Leo brandished a paintbrush at Yuuri.  While Yuuri enjoyed making tack for his model horses, Leo was a talented custom artist who repainted model horses to look beautifully realistic.  His style featured manes and tails that burst with detail and lots of soft, blended details on the horses’ coats.

“Of course!”  Yuuri nodded with eagerness.  Leo’s horses were always stunning, and his contest entries never failed to be absolutely outstanding.  Yuuri was always amazed that he hadn’t won in the contest yet.

“Here he is so far!  Remember, he needs to stay a secret because I want the big unveiling to be a surprise,” Leo said, holding up a brown model horse on what Yuuri recognized to be the ‘Idocus’ mold.  It depicted a standing warmblood stallion with an intent expression on his face.  He turned it to show Yuuri a few different angles.  “So I haven’t started blocking in his whites yet, but he’s going to be a Knabstrupper horse with a super loud, fun appaloosa pattern.  I don’t have a ton done on him yet, but I’m excited with how he’s coming along.”

“You should be really pleased with him Leo.  He’s turning out beautiful already,” Yuuri praised, and Leo waved him off, bashful.  “I can’t wait to see how he looks all completed with his spots and everything.  What are you entering him in, Excellence in Finish Work?”

“That’s the plan,” Leo nodded.  “With any luck this year I’ll finally place in the Best Custom Contest if my application is accepted.  I already can’t wait for Breyerfest.  You know my exchange student Guang Hong that you met last time we Skyped?  Even he’s excited to go!  I kind of figured that he’d think the horses were a little bit boring, but he actually really likes them and can’t wait to do Breyerfest.”

“Someday I’d love to be able to go,” Yuuri said, wistful.  “It sounds so wonderful.”

“I wish you could come, too.  It would be fun to finally meet in person, and I bet lots of other people from Instagram would love to meet you, too.  What’s really a shame is that the Open Show doesn’t allow proxy showing because otherwise I’d love to enter some of your performance entries for you.  I mean, I don’t normally show performance, but my Mom has before so I’m sure she’d be happy to fiddle with all the tiny buckles and all.  That way even if you couldn’t be there at least your horses could compete,” Leo said, painting the horse as he talked to Yuuri.  “As usual, though, if you want me to pick up any special run models for you just let me know and I’ll do my best to get my hands on them for you for cost plus shipping.”

“You really should charge me a pick-up fee, Leo,” Yuuri said, sounding a little fretful.  “You have to wait in line for them and everything.”

“Nope.  Consider it the friend discount,” Leo waved him off and managed to splatter even more paint on his face since he was still holding his brush. 

“I really appreciate it, Leo.  What you said about proxy showing, though.  I mean, I know it’s moot point since it’s not allowed anyway, but I don’t think my tack is good enough to compete at Breyerfest yet.  That’s all big name professional artists and stuff that I’d be up against.  I don’t even do commissions,” Yuuri shrugged.  “I don’t have hard feelings about it; it’s just how it is.”

“Well for starters the only reason you don’t have commissions is because you refuse to take them.  I always see people asking you about it and then you telling them you don’t think you’re skilled enough.  Listen, Yuuri.  Your tack is just as good as any big name artist’s tack, and better than a lot of them.  You need to have more confidence in your work.”  Coming from most people, Yuuri would have thought that sounded an awful lot like a lecture, but when Leo said it, it really did sound more like friendly advice than anything.  That being said, that didn’t mean that Yuuri believed it.  _Leo’s such a nice guy; he’s probably overhyping my stuff just to be kind to me.  There’s no way on earth my stuff could ever stack up with the other performance entries at Breyerfest._

Yuuri was about to tell him as much when he heard a rap on the door, immediately followed by the sound of it opening a crack.

“Yoohooooo, Yuuri!  Can I come in?”

“Yeah, I’m in the kitchen,” Yuuri called back. 

“Who’s there?”  Leo asked.  “That didn’t sound like Phichit.”

“Oh, it’s my boyfriend Viktor,” Yuuri said, kind of forgetting that he hadn’t actually told Leo he was dating anyone yet.

“ _Boyfriend?_ Yuuri!  You can’t just keep that a secret!  I should have been getting all the cute details about this!”  Leo feigned scandalization and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at his facial expression. 

“Well, you get to meet him now so that should at least kind of make up for it, yeah?” Yuuri said in a teasing voice as Viktor came into the kitchen.

“Hello whoever is on Facetime,” Viktor said in a sing song voice as he came up behind Yuuri and leaned over his shoulder.  Yuuri rested his head against Viktor’s and enjoyed the feeling of his silvery bangs brushing against his cheek.

“Viktor, this is my friend Leo.  He’s a model horse collector from Florida.  And Leo, this is Viktor, my boyfriend,” Yuuri said, making introductions.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Leo said with his usual relaxed smile.  Yuuri noticed that Viktor’s smile back was his ‘real’ one, not the ‘cool Viktor’ smile that Yuuri so often saw him use when meeting new people.  He supposed that Leo’s easy-going nature was infectious.  Yuuri couldn’t help but crack a smile himse;f.  It was a relief that Viktor seemed to be getting along with all his friends so far.

Leo and Viktor jumped right into a conversation about Florida and how nice the climate was in the winter since Viktor had done some modeling there before.  As Yuuri had never been to Florida, he was content to listen to Viktor and Leo talk about it and imagine what it was like to visit there.  At some point, Viktor joined him on the chair so they both had about half of the seat.  There wasn’t nearly enough room for two people to share it, let alone two adult men, but Yuuri didn’t really mind.  He just leaned his head onto Viktor’s shoulder and enjoyed hearing about sunny beaches and mysterious mangroves.

“Oh wow, time just flew by!  I gotta go, but it was fun talking to you guys.  Nice to meet you Viktor, and Yuuri, think about what I said about your tack, okay?   See ya,” Leo waved at them through the phone screen.

“Good bye Leo, talk to you soon!”  Yuuri waved back.

“Nice to meet you, too!  Goodbye!”  Viktor chimed in just before Leo ended the call.  “What did he say about your tack?”

“He was just trying to convince me that my stuff would be good enough to show at Breyerfest if I ever went,” Yuuri shrugged, standing up since sharing one tiny wooden chair with Viktor wasn’t an especially comfortable situation and his leg was starting to cramp.

“Well would it be?” Viktor asked.  “I mean, _I_ think it looks really good, but I don’t really know what I’m talking about.”

“Leo says yes.  But, uh, I personally don’t think it would stand a chance against some of the stuff that people show there,” Yuuri said, playing with the hem of his shirt.  “I think it would be a little embarrassing probably.”

“Hmmmm.  It would be worth a shot, though, right?  Even if you didn’t win, if Leo says your stuff would measure up I doubt it would be embarrassing,” Viktor said.  He looked up at Yuuri from the spot he still occupied at the kitchen table.  “He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would lead you astray like that.  I get the sense he’s quite honest, and even though he’s very nice, from our conversation he doesn’t seem like the sort to give false praise.”

“Maybe,” Yuuri said.  He still wasn’t convinced, but since Breyerfest wasn’t in the immediate future for him, it wasn’t worth arguing about.  Viktor frowned a little and looked like he wanted to say something else of the topic.  Eager to change the subject, Yuuri said, “Let’s open up our box from Julip, shall we?”

Yuuri’s diversion had the desired effect and Viktor’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Yes!!”

~*~

Viktor peeked over Yuuri’s shoulder, watching as he tore away the crinkly brown paper from the box and sliced through the tape holding the package shut with a pair of kitchen scissors.

“Yuuuuuuri be careful!  You don’t want to slice the horses accidentally,” Viktor fretted.  He thought it looked like Yuuri was being a little bit gung ho with the scissors.

“Don’t worry, Viktor.  They’re packed up really well in there so it would take some doing to damage them,” Yuuri laughed.  Viktor jiggled his knee with excitement.  He wanted to see if the horse resembled Yuuri as much in person as it did in the pictures online.  Plus, this was the first horse in his tiny collection that he’d actually picked out for himself since the rest of them were all random purchased by Chris.  This horse already felt quite special and he hadn’t even seen it for real yet.  “Here we go, the moment of truth,” Yuuri said as he opened the box completely and rifled through the abundance of packing material.

Viktor gave a little gasp when Yuuri passed him a plastic wrapped bundle.  Through the plastic, he could see the little black horse with its fluffy mane and flashy white markings.  He peeled off the wrapper as quickly as he possibly could and couldn’t resist squealing with joy once he finally had the horse freed from its packaging.

“Yuuri it’s _sooooooooooo cute!!!_ ” Viktor said, staring at the horse and turning it over in his hands to see if from all angles.  “How’s your horse?”

“I haven’t opened him yet,” Yuuri said with a soft smile and Viktor realized that Yuuri was still holding his horse in its wrapper.  “I wanted to watch you open yours first.  So what do you think of your first Julip?”

“Yuuuuuuuri he’s so cute,” Viktor said again and pressed the model to his chest.  “Wait, hang on!” 

Yuuri looked perplexed when Viktor held the Julip up next to his Yuuri’s face with a focused expression.  Then he nodded brightly and smiled even wider.

“I did a good job,” Viktor said, feeling self satisfied.

“A good job with what?”  Yuuri asked and Viktor took a moment to admire the curious expression on his face.  He loved that this was all a surprise to him.

“Picking out a horse that looks like you, of course,” Viktor laughed.  Even though it hadn’t even been that long ago, it felt like Spares Night when he had chosen the horse was worlds away.  He almost couldn’t believe that he had ever doubted that he and Yuuri would be together now that they were dating.

Yuuri blushed bright red but looked delighted.  “Wow, oh _wow_ ,” he said, breathless with laughter.  Viktor’s heart thumped and he set his horse on the kitchen counter.  He thought that Yuuri never looked more beautiful than he did when he was laughing, especially with such abandon. 

“Now _you_ hang on,” Yuuri said, and Viktor cocked his head to the side, watching as Yuuri unwrapped his own model.  Beaming, Yuuri copied Viktor and held his horse up next to Viktor’s face.  “I think _I_ did a pretty good job too.”

Yuuri placed his model on the counter next to Viktor’s, and arranged them carefully so their muzzles were touching.

“I can’t believe that we _both_ did that,” Viktor said, laughing just as hard as Yuuri as he hooked an arm around his waist and held him close.  “What are the odds, honestly?”

“I’m glad we did, though.  They look so cute together,” Yuuri said, leaning into Viktor.

“Well, they better look cute considering why we bought them.” Viktor pulled Yuuri’s head close to his own and enjoyed the clean smell of Yuuri’s hair and the coconut shampoo that he always liked to use.  Gently, he tipped Yuuri’s head back and kissed him, and Yuuri returned the kiss without a second of hesitation.  _How lucky am I that I can do_ this.  _How on earth did I end up with someone as absolutely, spectacularly, unimaginably wonderful as Yuuri?  Whatever I did to deserve this, I’m sure glad I did it._ “You know what we should do?”

“What’s that?” Yuuri said, a little breathless from the kiss despite its briefness.

“We should go out and take pictures of them for your horse Instagram!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!! We're reaching the part of the story where new characters are going to start popping up a bit more, but I'll keep the character tags updated as the chapters arrive! I want to thank you guys for all of your absolutely lovely, sweet comments. Seriously, it means so much to me when you all comment and tell me what you think! It makes me so so so happy!! I feel lucky to have such a lovely bunch of people reading this story and supporting me along the way <3
> 
> Per usual, please let me know what you think! Like I said, comments absolutely make my day (if not my week!), so please drop me a line! Constructive criticism is absolutely welcome to help me learn and improve as a writer (don't be afraid of hurting my feelings!). Other than commenting on here, you can also reach me on tumblr at @haircut-named-arthur or on twitter @pennylanewrites ! If you want to take a peek at my model horse collection, you can find that on Instagram @pennylanestables .
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! You guys are the absolute best and this story wouldn't be where it is without you! Until next time my friends! <3 <3 <3
> 
> -Hannah


	12. Say "Cheese!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor discusses his modeling career with Yuuri before the two of them enjoy a model horse photo shoot together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yahoo, Chapter 12 is here! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Have fun! <3

“Good idea, Viktor!  That would be fun,” Yuuri nodded, smiling at Viktor’s enthusiasm about the plan for the Julip photoshoot.  “I can set up one of my photo backdrops after dinner if you want.”  Viktor gave his head a vigorous shake, making his silvery bangs flip back and forth.

“Nope!  It would be better outside.  I want to do it by the pond in the park since that’s where we first met in person!”  Viktor fixed Yuuri with a pleading look that Yuuri knew he couldn’t say no to.  “Wouldn’t that be _soooo_ cute?”

“It would be really sweet,” Yuuri admitted. Even though outside photoshoots in public places like the park tended to make him anxious, he couldn’t deny that Viktor’s idea was good.  It could yield some adorable photos. Anyway, he’d have Viktor with him which would help. He always felt more relaxed photographing his horses when Phichit tagged along, so he imagined Viktor’s presence would do the same. “I’ve been needing new outdoor photos to post on Instagram for a while now anyway.”

 “ _Wonderful!_ ”  Viktor whooped and grabbed Yuuri by the arm.  “What are we waiting for then?  Let’s go!”

“Viktor, wait!” Yuuri dug his heels in as Viktor started to herd him towards the door.

“Yuuri, if you’re nervous about doing the photos outside, try not to be!  I’ll be with you so it’ll be fun, right?” Viktor said, stopping and resting his hand on Yuuri’s cheek. “And if anyone gives you trouble, they’ll have me to deal with!”  Even though the gesture was touching, Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh and roll his eyes.  Viktor looked confused by his reaction. 

“While I appreciate that Viktor, that’s not the problem.  It’s already _dark_ out, you dork,” Yuuri teased and bumped his shoulder against Viktor’s.  “I don’t think the pictures would be very cute if we couldn’t even see the horses.”

“Oh wow, I guess I got a little over enthusiastic there,” Viktor smiled, looking chagrined as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. 

“No kidding,” Yuuri replied, not without affection, and gave Viktor a quick peck on the cheek.  “Now how about we have dinner?  Is beef stir fry okay?  I already have everything all chopped up so it just needs to get cooked.”

“Beef stir fry is perfect,” Viktor grinned.  As usual, when Yuuri cooked Viktor sat on the counter to watch and offer a helping hand if need be.  Granted, Yuuri didn’t usually trust him with anything all that complicated.  Once he’d asked Viktor to cut up an onion for him and he’d been quite convinced that Viktor would lose a finger.

“What is it with you and sitting on the counter when there’s a perfectly nice table and chairs right there?” Yuuri said, more amused than anything.  “Between you and Phichit, I think the counter gets more use than the chairs do.”  As much as he pretended that it annoyed him, Yuuri knew that both Viktor and Phichit could tell he was bluffing since neither of them ever made any effort to break the habit.  Anyway, it didn’t bother Yuuri much because he liked it when people watched him cook.  Plus, Viktor’s close proximity made it easier for him to pass him things to taste test, or to steal a quick kiss if the moment arose.

Viktor just smirked and tried to steal a mushroom from the bowl of veggies Yuuri set out on the counter.  Yuuri brandished a chopstick at Viktor with mock seriousness.

“The more stuff you sneak before I even cook it the less there’ll be in the stir fry.  Hands off,” Yuuri laughed and Viktor popped the mushroom into his mouth and held his hands up in pretend surrender.  “You’re the absolute limit, Viktor, you know that?”  Yuuri joked as he dumped the vegetables into his pan before Viktor could try and make off with any more of them.

“I know,” Viktor replied, voice sing-song.

~*~

“So how was the photoshoot?” Yuuri asked once he and Viktor were seated at the table.

“Pretty good.  The usual I guess,” Viktor explained and then took a bite of his stir fry.  “Wow, Yuuri.  This is _great._ How was the library?”

“It was good but kind of a slow day for whatever reason.  Not so many people came in.  But Viktor, I want to hear about _your_ day,” Yuuri fixed him with a serious look that made Viktor wiggle in his seat.  “We always talk about mine, but you never seem to tell me much about yours.  If you don’t want to that’s fine, but I promise that I’m interested and ready to listen.”  Yuuri’s voice softened at the end and Viktor bit his lip for a second as he looked down at his food, poking around with his chopsticks to try and find another peapod. 

Viktor didn’t exactly want to talk about the photoshoot, but he also got the sense it would disappoint Yuuri if he didn’t. For a moment, Viktor considered making something up, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to lie. Especially not to Yuuri. That had already gotten him into enough trouble and he wasn’t keen to repeat that experience.

 “I mean, it was fine but nothing exciting, really,” Viktor said with a shrug.  “Just the same old same old.”

“Even if you don’t think it’s exciting, it is to me.  I don’t know a thing about modeling so it would be interesting to learn,” Yuuri encouraged and Viktor gave him a cockeyed smile that probably looked more sad than anything.

“Thanks, Yuuri.  Really.  It’s not that I don’t _want_ to tell you.  It’s just that, I dunno, modeling just hasn’t been very exciting to _me_ anymore, you know?  I used to _live_ for it.  All I could do was think of ways to make my photos stand out and be as eye catching as possible.  Now I just… I just, I don’t know it feels different.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love my job and I don’t think there’s anything else I’d rather do, but it just feels like the same thing over and over again sometimes.” 

He paused for a moment, glancing at Yuuri to make sure he didn’t look bored or anything. When he realized Yuuri was nodding for him to continue, Viktor took a deep breath and kept going. “Like I go, I take my pictures, if I’ve traveled somewhere I stay in the hotel. Then I leave again. If I’m on a shoot with Chris he’ll drag me out and we do have a really good time. Lately though it seems like we never get booked for the same things anymore so I’m just falling into my old routine. That’s why I accepted the deal to come live in Japan and work here. I thought a chain of scenery might fix it, but it didn’t. Before I met you, I literally fell into the exact same cycle of going to work, going home, walking Makkachin and going to bed. Now that I know you, and Phichit, too, that’s not an issue anymore. But I still feel… stale when I’m on set. I don’t know. Something’s just not there. I miss being _excited_ about it,” Viktor said, not quite willing to meet Yuuri’s eyes.

He’d never told anyone that, not even Chris.  In fact, Viktor rarely discussed anything quite so personal at all.  Saying it aloud was a relief, but at the same time he felt weirdly ashamed of it.  _I’m Viktor Nikiforov.  I’m internationally renowned.  I’m one of the most in demand models in the business.  I shouldn’t feel like this,_ Viktor thought, drumming his fingers on the table.  He wondered what Yuuri would say.  “And I’m worried that soon people will start to see that something is missing now and then they won’t think I’m good enough anymore and then people will forget about me.  It probably sounds kind of stupid, huh?”  Viktor added in a quiet voice.

Yuuri reached out and sought Viktor’s hand and gave it a squeeze.  Viktor squeezed back, appreciative of the contact.

“I don’t think it sounds stupid at all, Viktor.  Really.  To me it sounds like you’re in a bit of a slump,” Yuuri said, rubbing his thumb in little circles against Viktor’s hand.  “It’s only natural for anyone in a creative job like yours.  Artists get stuck, writers get writers’ block.  Why should it be any different for modeling?”

“Huh,” Viktor said.  _I’ve never thought about it like that,_ Viktor thought.  It was comforting.  Just a slump.  Not a career ending lack of motivation or a permanent loss of his modeling muse.  Just a slump.

“And you know what the best thing about a slump is?” Yuuri asked, a little smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

“To be honest it doesn’t feel like there could be a ‘best thing,’ really,” Viktor replied and Yuuri gave his hand another squeeze.

“You can always get out of one.  It might take some time, and it may feel like you won’t when you’re in the thick of things, but slumps always end,” Yuuri said.  “Goodness knows, I’ve had plenty of them but I always work myself out of them sooner or later.”

Viktor stared at Yuuri across the little kitchen table and their now mostly forgotten bowls of stir fry.  There was so much that he _wanted_ to say but his mind was running in circles and he found that he couldn’t quite string the words together how he wanted them to go.  _How did he come up with exactly what I needed to hear?  How did he_ know _?  I felt so insecure about this whole thing for ages and ages and now I feel so much better about it.  Why did I wait this long to tell him?  I should have known he wouldn’t judge me or anything._

In the end, Viktor just brought Yuuri’s hand to his lips, pressed a kiss to his knuckles and said, “Thank you.”

“Any time at all, Viktor.  That’s what I’m here for.   Thank you for telling me so I could try and help you,” Yuuri said with a smile, though Viktor could see nervousness creeping into the edges of his expression.  “I mean, I don’t think I give very good advice but hopefully I helped at least a little bit.”

“No, you helped _a lot._ More than you realize you did.  Best advice I’ve gotten in years,” Viktor grinned and Yuuri grinned back. 

“In that case, if I could offer one more piece of advice?” Yuuri asked, emboldened when Viktor gestured for him to continue.  “I think you’ll be able to get some of the excitement back in your work if you make things _surrounding_ your work exciting.  Next time you have to travel for a shoot, don’t let yourself go hide out in your hotel room when you’re done.  Go see the city, visit a museum, get dinner with some of the other models there.  _Something._   I know you’ve said you feel like it’s the same old thing over and over again, so you have to try not to let it be.”  Yuuri paused for a second, looking as if he were giving himself a momentary internal pep talk.  “Or you could bring me with you.”

“You know what I said a minute ago about how you gave me the best advice I’d gotten in years? Scratch that,” Viktor said and Yuuri looked so horrified that Viktor scrambled to make his next point as fast as possible.  “What you just said, _that_ was the best advice I’ve gotten in years.  You’ve gone and outdone yourself, Yuuri.  That’s exactly what I’m going to do.  Next time they send me off somewhere, you better get ready to use your vacation time.”

~*~

“Yuuri, _hurry_ up!  How long is it going to take you to finish eating?”  Viktor huffed.  He and Yuuri were having breakfast at their favorite café before Yuuri went to work at the library.  On the walk over to the library, they’d stop at the park and do the photoshoot for the horses.

“Viktor, relax will you?” Yuuri said, taking an extra slow bite of his pancake just to prove his point.  “There will be _plenty_ of time.  The park isn’t going anywhere.” 

“ _Yuuuuuuuuri!_ ”

Yuuri just laughed. Usually taking outside pictures of his horses made him more nervous than anything, but Viktor’s excitement was catching. He found himself getting swept right along in it. Plus, Viktor was about the farthest thing from self-conscious, so it would be good to have him along. Phichit always told Yuuri how no one would care about the model horses in public as long as he looked relaxed and confident. He could hear Phichit saying “ _Just act like you’re supposed to be there!_ _People respond to confidence, so they won’t be bothered as long as you can act like you don’t care what they think._ _Fake it till you make it, Yuuri!_ ” Naturally, that was far easier said than done, but Yuuri figured Viktor would have no trouble whatsoever filling that role for him. To be honest, Yuuri thought that Viktor could probably look relaxed and confident no matter what. Even if someone made him do something as ridiculous as walk through the city in a banana suit, he'd still wear his signature smile and carry himself with assurance. Of course, the more Viktor opened up to him, the more Yuuri could see he wasn’t necessarily always as confident as he acted. Still, no one could fake ease as well as Viktor could.

 “I’m not trying to be sassy or anything, but I have a genuine question,” Yuuri asked, and Viktor’s head popped up from where he had dramatically rested it on the table.  “Since you’re a model, you do photoshoots with real people all the time, so why are you so excited about doing one with model horses?”

“First of all, it’s different so that alone will make it fun, and more importantly, I get to do it with _you_!” Viktor reached across the table and gave Yuuri a gentle tap with his fingertip on the tip of Yuuri’s nose.  Even though Viktor had made something of a habit of that lately, it still never failed to make Yuuri’s cheeks flush pink.  Yuuri thought that for no matter how long he was with Viktor, it would never fail to delight him when Viktor was so casually affectionate.  It let the whole world know they were together and Yuuri relished it.  “I hope that you’re as excited as I am, Yuuri.”

“Oh, I am for sure,” Yuuri bobbed his head eagerly and took Viktor’s hand across the table.

“Then finish your damn pancakes, Yuuri!”  Viktor said, feigning playful annoyance even though Yuuri could see the smile playing around his lips and eyes.  “Less talking, more pancake eating.”

“Alright, alright.” Yuuri rolled his eyes.  As much fun as he was having joking around, Viktor had a point.  “You’re right anyway.  We should go soon because the earlier we get there, the less people will already be at the park.  As it is, we should get there in a nice window between the early morning joggers and the regular park activity.”

“Yuuri, anyone who gives you a hard time about the horses obviously hates fun so you can’t pay attention to them.  You have a hobby that you _love_ , so enjoy it,” Viktor said, expression becoming more serious as he gave Yuuri’s fingers a squeeze.  “If you don’t do the things you like because you’re worried about what other people think of them, then you’ll miss out on a lot of lovely experiences.”

“I appreciate that Viktor, I really do,” Yuuri said, and he couldn’t help but smile.  “I meant it in a logistical sense though.  Pictures of little tiny horses with big old human legs and feet in the background don’t look so swift.”

“Ooooooooh,” Viktor said, impressed.  “Yuuri, you think of everything!  Amazing!  That never even would have crossed my mind.  Now _actually_ eat your pancakes.”

“Will do, _Mom_ ,” Yuuri teased and stuck his tongue out at Viktor before he actually started to finish his breakfast.  They were absolutely wonderful pancakes, topped with whipped cream and strawberries, and he didn’t want them to go to waste.  Once Yuuri had finished, the waitress appeared with the bill and Yuuri took it before Viktor could.  Viktor looked ready to kick up a fuss, but Yuuri stopped him.  “ _Hush_.  You paid last time, so it’s my turn now.”

Viktor looked unconvinced.  Usually he was masterful at snatching the bill before Yuuri could even begin to lay hands on it so his uncharacteristic loss obviously peeved him.

“Really, Viktor.  I _want_ to,” Yuuri said, popping his card into the little holder and handing it back to the waitress before Viktor had a chance to protest.  “You at least have to let me do it sometimes.”

“I’ll take it under consideration,” Viktor winked. 

As soon as Yuuri signed the check, the two of them set off for the park hand in hand.  As they walked, Viktor liked to give their arms a little extra swing in time with their steps.

“It’s really getting a lot warmer, isn’t it?” Viktor said, letting go of Yuuri’s hand for a moment to unbutton his coat. 

“No kidding, it’ll be summer before we even know it.”  Yuuri settled his hand into Viktor’s grasp once more as they strolled down the street.  Even though it was still fairly early yet, the street was already filling up with people taking advantage of the pleasant weather.  The sun shone bright, only obstructed by a few, wispy mare’s tail clouds that would probably burn off before it even hit noon.  “I like the summer a lot.  Of course, I do like winter, too.  But summer is nice in its own way.  Plus summer means Breyerfest and even though I don’t get to go, I enjoy the vicarious excitement of it.  What time of year do you like best?”

Viktor hummed while he considered Yuuri’s question, tilting his head slightly as he mulled it over.  He touched his lower lip thoughtfully with the pointer finger of his free hand.  The sunshine touched his hair just so, making its silvery tones catch the light so they almost sparkled.  Yuuri’s breath caught in his throat.  He was always aware of how gorgeous Viktor was, how could he not be, but sometimes, at moments like this it still caught him by surprise.  _God, I’m so lucky._

“Well, you’re right about how each season is nice in its own way, but if I had to choose, I think I’d say winter.  It’s probably not the most popular choice, but I love the snow and wearing warm clothes and just being cozy under blankets with a hot drink,” Viktor explained.  “It’s just a nice time of year, very peaceful.”

“When you explain it like that I’m surprised it isn’t more people’s favorite,” Yuuri said and bumped his shoulder against Viktor’s. 

“A lot of people don’t like the cold or the wet, so they miss out on the nice parts I suppose,” Viktor said.  He and Yuuri passed through the park’s gates and made their way down to the pond.  Just like Yuuri hoped, the park was still rather empty and it wouldn’t be too difficult to get the horses set up nicely and take some good pictures of them.  “So where should we do this?”

“Well, I’m assuming you want to have the water in the background, so we should go over to that side of the pond so the sun is coming from behind us,” Yuuri said once he surveyed the scene.  “Maybe on that patch of grass by that bench would be nice.  Thoughts?”

“I think that’s perfect,” Viktor nodded, steering Yuuri in that direction in his haste to get started.  Yuuri let Viktor hurry him along, enjoying the excitement he felt radiating from Viktor.

“If you have any ideas or expertise from modeling, please chime in.  I’m sure that you’re the knowledgeable one here, not me,” Yuuri said while he unpacked the Julips from his bag and out of their carrying pouches.  Viktor gave his head a shake.

“Nope.  I bet it’s really different.  I’m learning from you today, Yuuri.”

“If you say so, but if you think of something don’t be afraid to point it out,” Yuuri said.  Since the Julips had mohair manes and tails, they needed a quick straightening up before they had their photos taken.  He was pleased that he’d remembered to bring a comb so he could tidy them up so they didn’t look like total ragamuffins.  Then he knelt down and set the horses on the patch of grass.  “First things first, you need to look at the horses straight on and make sure everything around them is in scale.  If something doesn’t match it can ruin a nice photo.  So I’ll move big leaves out of the way or pluck long strands of grass and make them shorter, see?”

“I’d have never thought about the leaves and grass,” Viktor joined Yuuri on the ground to help him clear the scene of leaves and out of place blades of grass with an intent expression on his face.  Yuuri smiled over at him as they worked.  _Most people wouldn’t be so willing just to jump in and help with something like this without worrying about looking weird or whatever, but Viktor doesn’t even seem to mind,_ Yuuri thought. 

“Then once everything is set up how you want it, I try and keep my camera at the level of the model’s eye.  Taking a picture looking down on a model horse makes them look small and like a toy.  I mean, obviously it _is_ a toy, but the whole point of the photo is that you don’t want the horse to _look_ like a toy,” Yuuri explained, and leaned forward onto his elbows and adjusted the camera how he wanted it.  “See?”  He angled the camera towards Viktor so he could see what Yuuri was talking about.

“Wow!” Viktor breathed, “A lot more goes into this than I expected.”

“You pose them and I’ll take pictures, then we can switch?” Yuuri offered and Viktor didn’t even reply, he just started to position the horses how he wanted them.  Since they were Julips with bendy legs, there were even more options than there would be with a normal model horse.   
At first, the poses Viktor chose seemed pretty normal, like horses trotting through a field or standing side by side peacefully. Then Yuuri saw a mischievous twinkle grow in Viktor’s eyes and the poses started to grow increasingly wild. Soon Yuuri was laughing so hard he could barely hold the camera still enough to take a picture that wasn’t horribly blurry. Naturally, all Viktor wanted to do was position the horses into cute kissing poses.

Yuuri was vaguely aware of the people walking by staring and him and Viktor as they laughed and laughed, but he found that he didn’t even care. Usually, even one person looking at him funny was enough for to make Yuuri pack up his horses and walk away, blushing furiously. Heck, he'd even regret his decision to even attempt outside photos at all. With Viktor along with him, though, he was having far too much fun to care.

 “My turn with the camera, Yuuri,” Viktor said in a light voice. “Keep my last set up there for a second though. And come this way.” Taking the camera, Viktor nudged Yuuri to move behind the horses in the grass. Then, he came up right beside him to join him. Viktor had the horses posed so that the Viktor-look-alike-horse pressed its muzzle against the Yuuri-look-alike-horse’s cheek. “Okay, here we go.”

Viktor turned the camera into the right position for a selfie and angled it so he and Yuuri’s faces were in the frame along with the model horses. 

“ _Perfect,_ ” Viktor whispered. Then he leaned over and kissed Yuuri on the cheek as he snapped a photo, mirroring the position he had the horses set up in.  “I don’t even need to look and I know that’s the best one so far.”

Yuuri laughed and leaned his head against Viktor’s.  He was struck by how _nice_ the moment simply was.  They weren’t on a fancy date or trying to impress each other, they were just lying on the grass acting as silly as they pleased and not caring if anyone was watching.  Yuuri couldn’t help but marvel at how at ease he felt with Viktor, especially when he thought back on how nervous Viktor had made him not long ago.  _I got really, really lucky._

“I think you’re probably right,” Yuuri smiled and turned to kiss Viktor on the cheek as well.  He heard the tell-tale click of the camera going off as Viktor captured the moment on film.

“Actually, I take it back.  _That_ was the best one,” Viktor said.  “No doubt about it.”  Yuuri laughed again and rested his head on Viktor’s shoulder.  Viktor cast his free arm over Yuuri in a carefree hug as he joined in on the laugher.  In that moment, Yuuri couldn’t think of a single place in the world that he’d rather be.  Lying in the sun on the grass with Viktor felt more perfect than Yuuri ever could have imagined it would.

_I love him so much already._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow wow, I've managed to stay with the every two weeks schedule for another chapter! These past two weeks have been mega busy (I'm taking my horse to a show tomorrow so we've been training for that, plus school has been wild!), so I'm pleased that I managed to get this chapter finished. I actually think that a big reason for why I was able to was that I posted on Twitter a few days back saying that I'd update this Saturday so I had to hold myself accountable lol
> 
> Please, please let me know what you think of the story! Comments make sooooo happy! Seriously guys, when I see those comment notifications in my inbox it makes me feel so delighted. Per usual, don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism if you think there's something that could do with improvement. You can reach me through the comments on here, or on tumblr at @haircut-named-arthur or on twitter @pennylanewrites ! If you want to take a peek at my model horse collection, you can find that on Instagram @pennylanestables . Side note, sometimes I see you guys popping up liking photos on my model horse Insta and it makes me SO HAPPY! I love seeing those YOI icons of usernames I recognize from comments or twitter. Seriously, it's super fun and I love that I can share my hobby with you guys.
> 
> Thank you so, so much for all of your sweet and lovely comments and kudos and for your continued support! You are all absolutely wonderful and I feel so lucky to have such sweet and amazing readers.
> 
> Until next time my lovely friends! <3  
> ~Hannah


	13. He Said What Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone needs to step up to the plate and fill in to run story hour at the library and an odd Instagram comment catches Yuuri's attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I really hope that you enjoy the chapter. Someone new pops in that I'm sure you've all been waiting for ;)  
> (And I've been soooo eager to write him, so I'm excited, too!)
> 
> Have fun and be sure to let me know what you think!

Yuuri smiled as he read through the nice comments on his latest Instagram post.  It was a close-up shot of a dressage bridle he’d finished earlier in the week.  Of all the tack Yuuri made, his favorite was his dressage tack.  It always looked so elegant with its shiny black leather and white piping.  Heck, he even loved sewing the tiny quilted saddle pads no matter how fiddly a job that could be most of the time.  He always had to be careful not to prick his finger with the sewing needle so he wouldn’t bleed on the clean white fabric and ruin his work. 

**magicalmoonlightbreyers commented: Wow!! So beautiful and detailed!  Do you take commissions?**

Yuuri typed in his usual reply about how, while he was very flattered by the interest, no he did not take commissions because he didn’t feel confident enough in his work.

**magicalmoonlightbreyers commented: No worries :)** **Please let me know if you do open commissions someday!**

Yuuri tapped the “like” button on their comment.  Sighing in relief, Yuuri set his phone back in his pocket and got ready to leave the breakroom and go back to the desk at the library.  He was glad that they understood.  Some people didn’t know how to take no for an answer and would push and push and push trying to get him to change his mind or make an exception for them.  Others would plead for him to sell whatever piece was in the photograph.  He’d turn that down, too.  As far as he was concerned, he made tack for himself.  Yuuri made what he wanted to, not what he thought would sell well or be popular and he worried that if he started offering pieces for sale, he’d get away from that.  Plus, he didn’t think his tack was good enough to sell.  Sure, it was competitive in photo shows, but live shows were like a whole new universe.  Or what if it wasn’t durable enough and broke?  Or any number of other things that could go wrong with it.  Yuuri sighed.

Putting his model horses out of his head for the moment, Yuuri joined Yuuko at the front desk again.  She turned to face him, looking absolutely wild eyed.  Her hair had pulled partially out of her scrunchy and fell around her face.

“Yuuko…?  Is everything o-”

“Yuuri!!  The girl who was supposed to do story hour with the kids today _cancelled_!  And the children will be here in less than an hour!”  Yuuko said, despairing.  “It’s too late to call off story hour.  People are probably already on their way.”

“Couldn’t one of us do it?  I mean, we’ve both filled in for it before and it’s not a big deal.  Compared to the triplets these kids are nothing,” Yuuri said, giving her arm a reassuring pat.

“No!  Minako called out today and I’m handling that group of high schoolers coming here to learn about online databases for research, so that leaves just you and we can’t have the desk completely unattended.  Especially not for a full hour.”  Yuuko groaned.  “Yuuri, what are we going to do?”

“Let me think for a second,” Yuuri said and started to wrack his brain for a possible replacement.  Phichit was the obvious choice.  Children _worshipped_ Phichit.  They responded to his bubbly personality and theatrical nature and loved him for it.  And he was good with them besides.  He had little cousins back home in Thailand that he had babysat all the time before coming to Japan for school.  Where most people would be horrified by the thought of needing to keep a room full of two to seven-year olds entertained for an entire hour, Phichit would totally eat it up. 

Unfortunately, the obvious choice wasn’t an option.  Yuuri didn’t even have to text Phichit to know that he was in class during story hour.  He was sure Phichit would probably be willing to play hooky to get him out of a fix, but Yuuri wanted to avoid asking him to do that.  If Phichit got marked down for it or missed a quiz, Yuuri would feel too guilty.

There was one other person Yuuri could ask, however.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri**

**What are your thoughts on children?**

Viktor was off today, and Yuuri thought Viktor seemed like the kind of guy who would probably be good with kids, so he figured it was worth a shot.  He couldn’t think of anyone else at this point, anyway.  Short of making Leo and Guang Skype in from America to read a story, Viktor really was the last option.

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor  
Well, I haven't really thought about it to be perfectly honest, but I do think being a dad would be nice. Why do you ask?**

Yuuri blushed bright red in the space of a few seconds and hammered out a reply as quickly as possible while Yuuko looked on in total confusion.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri**

**No no no no!  Not like that!  Just in general!  Do you mind kids?**

Even though Viktor wasn’t there, Yuuri could practically hear him laughing as he read the text.

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor**

**I love kids!  And kids adore me.  Haven’t you seen all those babies that always smile at me in the grocery store and on the train?  They think I’m great.**

“Yuuko, I think we have our solution,” Yuuri said and showed Yuuko the text.  He scrolled the part where Viktor thought Yuuri was asking him if he _wanted_ kids out of the way so Yuuko couldn’t laugh.

“Do you really think he’d be willing to step in and take over story hour?” Yuuko asked, sounding hopeful. 

“I mean, probably.  He isn’t working today so I don’t see why he wouldn’t help us out,” Yuuri shrugged.  “Let me give him a call.”  Per usual, Viktor answered the phone on the very first ring.

“Yuuuuuuuri darling, hello,” Viktor said in a cheerful voice.  “Why the sudden interest in babies?”

“Viktor, would you be willing to take over story hour at the library today?  The usual girl flaked on really short notice and-”

“Willing?  Are you kidding?”

“Oh, uh, sorry, I-”  Yuuri backpedaled.  Yuuko looked just as crestfallen as he felt.  Problem _not_ solved after all, apparently.  Now they’d need to jump through hoops to find another solution.

“Yuuri!  I’d _love_ to fill in!  Story hour sounds like the cutest thing _ever._ Do I get to choose what book to read to the children?  Because I know a reeeeeally cute one about puppies.  I wonder if you guys have it?  How many kids will there be?  How old?  When do I come?”  Viktor squealed, sounding even more effusive than usual over the phone.

“Oh thank _God,_ ” Yuuri said, and he and Yuuko sighed in unison.

“I’ll come over right away!”

~*~

Viktor walked with a skip in his step as he made his way to the library. He couldn’t help but feel pleased that Yuuri asked _him_ to save the day. Back when they first met, Viktor didn’t think Yuuri would have felt comfortable enough with him to ask a favor, especially not one relating to his job. Now, though, here they were. _Yuuri_ trusts _me,_ Viktor thought with a smile. Since he wanted nothing more than for Yuuri to feel that he could come to him for help when he needed it, Viktor thought this was terrific progress. Close to bursting with happiness, Viktor started to whistle as he walked.

He wanted to make it to the library as soon as possible, but it seemed like the universe was conspiring against him the whole way.  He didn’t hit one single walk light at a crosswalk the entire time. Viktor shifted from foot to foot with impatience as he waited for the little green person to light up on the crosswalk light. The orange hand displayed in its place seemed to taunt him. It was even more torturous because he could _see_ the library just down the block. _Come on, I can’t be late for Yuuri!_ Viktor started to tap his foot. _Or the kids for the matter!_ _They’re expecting someone to be there when they arrive!_

When the light finally changed, Viktor dashed across the street at a run like a sprinter stepping off the blocks.  In fact, he didn’t _stop_ running until he reached the door of the library.  Panting a little, Viktor took a moment outside to finger comb his hair back into some semblance of order and attempted to catch his breath.  He knew he couldn’t do anything about how pink his cheeks would be for the next few minutes, but he _definitely_ wanted to fix what he could.  Now that Spring was in full swing and the days were getting warmer and warmer, he couldn’t even blame his rosy cheeks on the cold.  Even though he’d met Yuuri’s coworkers a few times now, he still didn’t feel quite comfortable enough with them to be seen looking so disheveled.   

Satisfied that he no longer looked like a complete and utter disaster, Viktor sauntered into the library. 

“Ah, good thing you’re here, Viktor!” Yuuko greeted him in English as he came up to the front desk.  “A few of the kids and parents arrived a little early so Yuuri is just showing them the room.  He’ll be back soon.  This is the book we had on the schedule.”  Yuuko handed Viktor a colorful, hardcover picture book with a trio of bright yellow ducklings on the cover.

Viktor blinked at her and cocked his head as he took it.  The title of the book was in Japanese.  He flipped through the pages.  They, too, were all in Japanese.  _Darn it._

“Uhmm,” Viktor started, giving her an apologetic look.

“Is something wrong?” Yuuko asked.  She started to look so panicky that Viktor couldn’t help but feel a little bad for her.

“Well, it looks really sweet, but I, um, can’t read Japanese yet?”  In spite of himself, Viktor’s voice pitched up at the end, turning his statement into a question.  “Yuuri and I are practicing, and I can recognize common street signs and some food words and stuff, but I don’t think I could exactly read a book yet.  Especially not to other people.  Out loud.”

“ _Shoot_!” Yuuko huffed.

“I’m sorry, I-” Viktor couldn’t help but feel bad.  Rationally, he knew that feeling guilty about not being able to read Japanese didn’t make very much sense.  It wasn’t as if he’d pretended that he could or something. Anyway, _he_ was the one doing Yuuko a favor, but Viktor still felt like he had let her, and by extension Yuuri, down. _I can’t stand feeling like I’ve failed people,_ Viktor worried, fighting the embarrassed blush he knew was rising in his cheeks.

 “No, don’t be sorry Viktor!  I didn’t mean it like that.”  Yuuko flapped her hands in placation.  “It’s my fault.  I was in such a stir about finding someone to fill in that this didn’t even occur to me.”  She pinched the bridge of her nose and paced behind the desk, muttering something in Japanese that Viktor couldn’t quite pick up.

“Is there an English book I could read them?  I know lots of kids learn English in school.  Even if the little ones don’t understand all of it, it’s probably better than nothing, especially with the pictures.  Technically I could also read one in Russian, but I think that’s a bit obscure,” Viktor suggested.  Even if he couldn’t read the original book, he still wanted to be as helpful as possible.  Yuuko snapped to a halt from her pacing and whirled to face Viktor.  She slammed her palms onto the library counter with such force that Viktor startled.

“Viktor.  You’re a genius.  I could kiss you,” Yuuko said.  Viktor’s eyebrows shot upwards.  “I _won’t_ kiss you, because I don’t think either my husband or Yuuri would exactly appreciate that, but point being, I _could_ kiss you,” Yuuko elaborated.  “Hang on, I’ll be right back.  Watch the desk for me!  If someone comes over just stall them till I get back.”

Viktor let himself behind the desk and sat down in one of the office chairs.  He sent it spinning with a kick of his heels against the carpeted floor.  _It wouldn’t be such a bad gig, being a librarian,_ he mused.  _I can see why Yuuri likes it._

“Viktor?  What are you doing back there?”

Viktor put his feet down, pulling the chair to a stop and smiled over at Yuuri.

“Stealing your job,” Viktor said in his most innocent voice and gave his eyelashes a flutter.  He smiled back when Yuuri laughed. 

“No, really though?  Where’s Yuuko?” Yuuri asked, joining Viktor behind the desk and sitting in the chair next to him.  Viktor leaned over and pressed a kiss to Yuuri’s cheek, admiring how Yuuri looked for a moment before he replied.  He always _loved_ Yuuri’s work clothes.  Today he was wearing a soft, grey cable knit sweater and corduroy pants.  The whole outfit right down to his chunky glasses just screamed “cute librarian” and Viktor thought it suited Yuuri unbelievably well.

“She forgot I couldn’t read Japanese so now she’s going to find a book in English for me to read to the kids,” Viktor explained, making the chair spin again.  “These are so fun, Yuuri!  How do you not just spin around all day?”

“Because unlike some people, apparently, I’d get dizzy,” Yuuri teased and reached over and caught Viktor’s shoulder to stop him.  “In fact, I’m getting dizzy just watching you so how about you give it a rest?”

“Are you sure you’re not dizzy because you’re swooning over my impossibly good looks?” Viktor said, batting his eyelashes at Yuuri and making him laugh again.  No matter how many times he heard it, Viktor was sure he’d never get tired of Yuuri’s laugh.  It was a terrific laugh, downright musical in Viktor’s humble opinion, and it was even _better_ when Viktor was the one causing it.

“Now you sound like you’re taking a page out of your friend Chris’ book.  You’re impossible,” Yuuri shook his head, pretending to be serious even though Viktor could see the smile playing around the corners of his lips.  Unable to resist, he rolled his office chair a little closer and pressed a small kiss to Yuuri’s mouth.  When he pulled back, Viktor left his fingers grazing the soft skin of Yuuri’s chin.

“I know I’m impossible, darling, but you love me anyway, no?” Viktor said, only half teasing, and enjoyed the blush growing in Yuuri’s cheeks.

“I hate to interrupt, love birds, but Viktor’s going to be late for story hour,” Yuuko said as she joined them behind the desk.  “And Viktor, who said you could steal my chair?”

“I thought you wanted me to watch the desk!” Viktor retorted.  “Anyway, it’s a very nice chair.”

“I meant tell me if someone came in, not pretend like you work here,” Yuuko gave her eyes a playful roll.  “Moving on, here’s the book.  I picked a dog one because I know you like them.”

Viktor accepted the book from her and leafed through it.  It was all about a cute black and white puppy who got lost and needed to find his way home.

“Cuuuuuute!”  Viktor squealed as he flipped through the pages a second time.  “Children will love this.”

“That’s the idea,” Yuuko confirmed. “So you just read the kids the story, and to keep them interested, try to be as theatrical as possible.”

“Viktor will have no problem with that,” Yuuri deadpanned, and Viktor gave him an affectionate swat on the arm.

“Hey!”

“ _Listen!_ ”  Yuuko clapped her hands to catch their attention.  “You two are worse than the kids.  _Anyway,_ after you read the story and answer questions, there’s a craft.  Unfortunately the craft we already have set up is duckling themed not puppy themed, but we’ll have to make due.  It’s just coloring pages with some stickers and feathers they can paste on.  The craft time can be a bit chaotic, so hopefully either me or Yuuri will be freed up to come help you then.  Okay?”

“Okay!” Viktor gave his head a vigorous nod. 

“Yuuri will show you where the room is.  I need to wait here for the high school class that’s coming in,” Yuuko said.  She looked like she was about to say something else, but her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket.  Reading the text, she snickered aloud.  “Well, Takeshi is bringing _my_ kids by, so have fun with that.  They’re triplets.”

 _That sounds a little ominous,_ Viktor worried as Yuuri led him to the room where some of the kids were already waiting for him.  He clutched the book to his chest like a shield.  For all his talk about how much kids adored him, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.  Although he did like kids a lot, he’d also never been faced with twenty of them in one go before.

“Hey, Yuuko was just teasing.  Her girls have a lot of energy, but they’re good kids,” Yuuri said in a reassuring voice and squeezed Viktor’s arm as they walked down the hallway.

“How did you…?”  Viktor stopped and turned to face Yuuri. 

“You just looked a little nervous,” Yuuri shrugged. Viktor bit his lip. He hadn’t realized that he’d seemed noticeably uneasy. Usually he was so good at hiding what he felt, it still surprised him when Yuuri could figure it out with such ease. _And Yuuri is so nonchalant about it!_ _It’s like he doesn’t even realize it._

 “Oh,” Viktor said, pausing for a second.  For a moment, he considered waving Yuuri off and telling him he was absolutely fine, not worried at all.  _Yuuri would probably know I was lying, though,_ Viktor mused.  With a sigh, Viktor decided just to be honest with him, even if it meant sacrificing his bravado.  “I am nervous.  Not exactly about Yuuko’s children, but _all_ of them.  Don’t get me wrong, I do love kids, it’s just that I’ve never done anything like this before.  What if they don’t like me?  And they think I’m boring and then they end up totally out of control.”

“Well, for starters, I don’t think _anyone_ could find you boring Viktor,” Yuuri said.

“Are you teasing me?” Viktor asked, sticking his lower lip out in a slight pout.

“Maybe a little.  I do mean it, though.  I don’t think that anybody could honestly dislike you, Viktor.  I’m sure that you’ll be a huge hit!” Yuuri took one of Viktor’s hands and gave it a squeeze.

“Really?”

“Really.  You’ll do great.  I need to get back to the desk, but just holler if you need anything, okay?” Yuuri squeezed Viktor’s hand again and smiled at him.  Viktor’s heart more or less melted.  _He always knows what to say to help when I need it.  I’m so lucky that I found him._

“Yuuri, thanks,” Viktor said, leaning forward to give him a kiss on the forehead.

“That’s what I’m here for.  Now have fun, okay?”

~*~

“The high school class just left, Yuuri.  You can go see how Viktor’s getting along if you want,” Yuuko said as she returned to the desk.

“Fantastic.  Thanks, Yuuko.  He was kind of nervous before hand, so I’d like to make sure he’s doing okay.”  Yuuri stacked up the papers he was going through into a neat pile and stood up from his chair.

“Viktor nervous?  He doesn’t really seem like that kind of guy,” Yuuko said.  “He’s always so suave and confident.”

“You’d be surprised.  There’s a lot more to Viktor than first meets the eye.  He just doesn’t like to show it if he can help it,” Yuuri explained.  “It takes him a while to get comfortable enough around someone to really open up to them.”

“Well he’s lucky that he has you around to see through the façade then,” Yuuko smiled.

Yuuri nodded to her and hurried off to the children’s room, pride glowing in his chest. Since he started dating Viktor, people had mostly always told him what a catch Viktor was.  It was nice to hear that someone thought Viktor was lucky to have him, too. At least, he certainly _hoped_ Viktor was lucky to have him. Even though Viktor told him so pretty regularly, sometimes he still couldn’t help but doubt himself. He was getting better about it, but he still had a ways to go.

Rather than walk right in, Yuuri decided to peer around the doorframe and see how things were going for himself.  Sneaking up, Yuuri poked his head into the children’s room.  Thanks to a generous donation a few years ago, the children’s room was brand new and absolutely gorgeous.  The walls were painted to look like a colorful forest, and the ceiling was decorated with a skyscape complete with fluffy white clouds and a cheerful sun.  Story hour took place in the center of the room where there were lots of mats shaped like leaves and flowers for the children to sit on and a soft, purple arm chair for whoever was reading the story.

Viktor was sitting on the floor to help with the craft, positively swarmed with children.  He had stickers stuck on his face and feathers in his hair and a radiant smile on his face that made Yuuri’s heart leap.  One of the children said something and Viktor burst into laughter as he helped another little girl with a glue stick with a stubborn cap.  Even Yuuko’s little girls, who could usually most kindly be described as forces of nature, were part of the huddle surrounding Viktor as they worked on their coloring pages.

One of the mothers noticed Yuuri peeking in and smiled at him.  She was a regular at the library and was in a couple of times a week with her little boy Sousuke. 

“How was story hour?”  Yuuri asked, slipping into the room now that he had been noticed.  Viktor was still unaware of his presence, though, since he was so involved with the gaggle of children vying for his attention.

“It was _wonderful._ Whoever this new guy is, the children really love him.  I’ve never seen them all so engaged in the story, and afterwards he was very patient with them even though they were bombarding him with questions about Russia.  The parents had to step in to translate a few times, but it wasn’t a problem at all,” she explained, and the other nearby parents chimed in with their agreement.  It sounded like Viktor had been popular with the kids and parents alike.  Yuuri smiled with pride.

 _He was so worried about not doing well, but look at him!  This sounds like the most successful story hour the library has ever had!_ Yuuri thought as he turned his attention back to the scene in front of him.  Viktor somehow managed to convince two of the children who were usually the rowdiest to peacefully share a glue stick and sheet of stickers together.

“I hope he comes back and that he wasn’t just a one time fill-in,” one of the dads near Yuuri added.  “He did a great job, especially for his first time.”

“It seems like Viktor’s having just as much fun as the kids are, so I’m sure that could be arranged,” Yuuri told the parents and enjoyed their delighted reactions.  He wasn’t surprised that everyone adored Viktor, how could they not, but it didn’t make him any less happy that they did.

Even though Yuuri’s original intention was to help with the craft, it seemed like Viktor had everything under control. Plus, the scene looked so cute he decided he'd rather watch than interrupt. When Viktor did catch sight of him, he gave Yuuri an enthusiastic wave and had all the kids wave, too, but then he went back to what he was doing. Yuuri hung back with the parents, perfectly happy to observe from the sidelines. Anyway, someone needed to get the latest library gossip for Phichit.

As dinner time approached, the children and parents trickled out and soon it was only Viktor and Yuuri left in the children’s room.

“Did you have fun?” Yuuri asked, already certain of what the answer would be as he joined Viktor on the floor. Together, they began the momentous task of picking what seemed like hundreds of feathers out of the thick carpet.

 “Yuuuuuuuuuri, that was _amazing!_ ” Viktor said, shaking Yuuri’s shoulder for good measure.  “I was sure it would be a huge disaster but the kids were so cute and the parents were so nice and I _loved_ it!  Thank you so much for asking me to fill in.”  He bumped his shoulder against Yuuri’s and touched their heads together.

“I’m really glad you had fun Viktor.  Next time we need someone, you’ll be the first person we call,” Yuuri said, nudging Viktor back with his own shoulder.

“Really?” Viktor’s blue eyes brightened even further.

“Of course.  The parents loved you.  They said it was the happiest their kids had ever been at story hour,” Yuuri grinned and Viktor looked so happy he seemed to be almost at the point of tears.

“Yuuuuuuuri!” Viktor squealed and tackled him to the floor, making him drop his handful of feathers all over the carpet again.  “I’m so _happy_.”

“And I’m happy that you’re happy,” Yuuri said, propping himself up on his elbows to kiss Viktor’s mouth. 

~*~

Yuuri laughed while he kicked off his shoes as he and Viktor came into the apartment after dinner.  Viktor had spent the whole time filling Yuuri in on all of the children’s shenanigans during story hour.

“And after that, they _all_ wanted to put feathers in my hair!” Viktor said with a toss of his bangs.

“I noticed,” Yuuri grinned.  “It took forever getting them all out.  Actually, I think I missed one.  Hold still.”  Viktor inclined his head slightly so Yuuri could tease a small, yellow craft feather from the hair behind his ear.  “Got it.” Viktor snorted with laughter when Yuuri tickled his nose with it.  Yuuri’s sneak attack set off a round of playful wrestling that left them collapsed in a heap on the floor before they disentangled themselves from each other. 

“Is it alright if I make some tea before I go?  My downstairs neighbor is taking Makkachin out for me so I don’t need to rush out right away, but I don’t want to leave her alone for too long either,” Viktor asked as he pulled himself to his feet and extended a hand to help Yuuri up.

“Of course, have at it,” Yuuri said, flopping onto the love seat.  “Make me a cup, too, please.”

Yuuri hummed to himself as he took his phone out of his pocket to check on the Instagram notifications that had piled up throughout the day.  He loved how comfortable Viktor felt in the apartment.  Slowly, from the time he and Yuuri had first become friends, Viktor had settled in at Yuuri and Phichit’s apartment like it was a second home.  _When we met, I don’t think I ever imagined that he’d just be over here making tea in the kitchen like we’d known each other forever._ Yuuri shivered with pleasure.  It was so wonderfully _domestic._ That, combined with his newfound knowledge of how good Viktor was with kids lent themselves to all kinds of wonderful daydreams about what their lives could be like together.

“I’m hoooooome!” Phichit said, coming in with his usual clatter.

“Welcome back!” Viktor and Yuuri chorused in unison.

“Gosh, it’s like you two are _married_!” Phichit crowed and he plopped down in the arm chair across from Yuuri’s love seat.

“Phichit, do you want tea?” Viktor yelled from the kitchen.  “I’m making some now.”

“Yes please!  With extra sugar,” Phichit hollered back.  “Whatcha doin’, Yuuri?”

“Just replying to the Instagram comments about that new dressage bridle I finished up the other day,” Yuuri explained as he tapped out his responses.

“Good comments?”

“Mhmm, people really seemed to like it,” Yuuri said, the corners of his mouth creeping up into a smile.  “I’m really proud of how it turned out.”

“You should be. In pictures where there’s nothing to show scale it would be hard to tell it’s not the real deal. What’s up, Yuuri?” Phichit asked. Yuuri’s placid expression had shifted. He cocked his eyebrow incredulously and drew away from his phone.

 “Just kind of an odd comment,” Yuuri said, frowning a little as he scanned the comment again.

“Read it out loud,” Phichit said, leaning forward in his interest to hear what someone had written to Yuuri.

“The guy who runs that tack making account ‘Russian White Tiger Studios’ just commented ‘Idiot’ on the picture of my bridle?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now, whoever could that be?? ;) 
> 
> I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! I am SO sorry for its lateness! With the end of the semester, I've been ridiculously busy between working on my undergraduate thesis and all of my other classes, too. Plus I've had some horse shows and stuff thrown into the mix making me busier than usual. In spite of that, I still planned on updating last week, but unfortunately my very elderly pet Guinea Pig, Beans, really declined in health and passed away. It was definitely his time, but I was still devestated so I wound up not finishing the chapter because of how sad I was (I still am sad, but it stings less). I really appreciate the support I got from you guys on Twitter and Instagram about Beans. It really means a lot to me.
> 
> On a lighter note, a couple of weeks ago, I bought my most wanted model horse! I had spent ages and ages searching high and low for one (he's pretty rare and seldom comes up for sale), but someone offered me one at a price I couldn't refuse. So that was very exciting! I literally burst into tears of joy when I got him :,) Fun fact, it's the model horse Yuuri mentions wanting during his live stream in one of the early chapters!
> 
> Per usual, comments make me ridiculously happy!! Seriously, it means the world to me when people take the time to tell me what they thought of the chapter! I also really appreciate constructive criticism so I can see where I need to improve! You can reach me through the comments on here, on Tumblr @haircut-named-arthur and on Twitter @pennylanewrites . If you want to see my model horse collection, that's on Instagram @pennylanestables .
> 
> Thanks SO much for reading guys, and for sticking around despite the big gap in chapters!! The next few weeks are absurdly busy between finals, the holidays, and my birthday, so the bi-weekly update may be a little optimistic, but I'll do my best! My goal is to do at least one more chapter before Christmas!!
> 
> Y'all are the best, thank you for being wonderful! <3 Until next time! xoxo


	14. In Which an Exciting Happening Happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys discuss the weird comments from Russian White Tiger Studios and Viktor hatches his best plan EVER. For real this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello hello my friends! Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter. Something happens this time around that I hope will make the wait worthwhile!
> 
> Enjoy and please be sure to tell me what you think!

“What the _hell_?  _Again_?!” Phichit crowed, gesturing for Yuuri to toss him the phone. 

“Mhmm,” Yuuri said, throwing the phone over to him. 

“What’s this kid’s issue?” Phichit scrolled through the comments industriously.  His brow furrowed when he reached the one in question. 

“For whatever reason it really ticks him off that I’m not open for commissions, I think,” Yuuri shrugged.  “It seems like he pops up whenever I mention not taking orders, anyway.  So at least I think that’s why.  But it’s really anyone’s best guess, I suppose.  He usually just insults me and moves on without leaving an explanation.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Viktor asked as he left the kitchen and came into the living room with all three mugs of tea in hand.  Yuuri thought his grip looked rather precarious and was he sure that Viktor would drop them.  Somehow he got all of them safely to the coffee table without even spilling any.

“This whacko Russian kid keeps bugging Yuuri on Instagram,” Phichit explained as he gave Yuuri back his phone and collected his mug of tea.  “No offense to you, Viktor, as his fellow Russian.”

“None taken. _Why_?” Viktor asked, joining Yuuri on the love seat and tucking his feet up.  Yuuri scooted nearer to him, enjoying their close proximity, especially when Viktor placed a hand on his knee.  After harboring a secret crush on Viktor for so long, Yuuri couldn’t help but find the physical contact thrilling.  He nestled in closer.  “By the way Phichit, I think there’s more sugar than there is tea in yours.”

“Good, that’s how it ought to be,” Phichit nodded.  “Anyway, he always comments on posts about Yuuri’s model horse tack and heckles him about not taking commissions.”

“Does he want a commission _that_ badly?” Viktor asked, and gave Yuuri’s knee a squeeze.

“No, actually he makes tack, too.  So he doesn’t need mine.  He has a really successful tack business and his commissions are some of the most popular ones in the model horse community right now,” Yuuri explained.  He leaned into Viktor’s shoulder and inhaled the smell of his tea, admiring the way it mingled with the familiar scent of Viktor’s favorite cologne.  Viktor always made it just how Yuuri liked it. 

“That’s the thing that makes it weird as hell because why would he want more competition?  You’d think he’d be _glad_ that you didn’t take commissions, too,” Phichit said, gesticulating with such animation that he almost spilled his tea.  “But instead he’s over here calling you an idiot and stuff.”

“He’s calling Yuuri an idiot?” Viktor said, and Yuuri could see a crease deepening between his brows.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?  I mean, it’s annoying when he says it but it doesn’t really bother me.  It’s more strange than anything since I don’t even know him,” Yuuri shrugged, hoping to convince Viktor that it didn’t get to him too badly.  He could see where Viktor was coming from, certainly.  If some random person online was going around calling Viktor an idiot he knew he wouldn’t be especially pleased by it.  However, since this was about him and not Viktor he wasn’t too worked up and he didn’t want Viktor to worry about it either.  “It’s not worth stressing over.”

“Mmm,” Viktor hummed, leaning his head into Yuuri’s.  He didn’t sound convinced.  “So he’s Russian?”

“Yeah.  You don’t happen to know any teenagers back home who make model horse tack, do you?” Yuuri teased, smirking.  Viktor cracked a smile.

“I can’t say I do,” He laughed.  “I guess I’m just surprised that he’s from Russia.  It doesn’t really seem like the kind of place you’d think of people making model horse tack.  From what you’ve said it seems like model horses are mostly a thing in the United States, England, and Germany.”

“You’d be surprised.  Russia has a small but really dedicated group of collectors.  They’re known for making some absolutely _beautiful_ tack,” Yuuri explained.  “And this Russian White Tiger Studios kid is pretty much the star of the show right now.  Even a lot of the big collectors buy his stuff and it’s won at the British Model Equine Championships _and_ North American Nationals.  He’s apparently going to Breyerfest this July in Kentucky this year to sell tack and compete in the Open Show even though he’d be eligible for the Youth Show.  Given how talented he is, the Youth Show would be too easy for him.”

“I don’t know what most of that is but it sounds very impressive,” Viktor said.  He leaned back in the loveseat and began twisting Yuuri’s hair between his slender fingers.  Yuuri moved into his touch, enjoying the sensation of Viktor playing with his hair.

“Oh, trust me, it is.  His stuff is beating out tack made by people who have been doing it for longer than he’s been alive.  He’s pretty much a prodigy,” Yuuri said and Viktor whistled.

“Wouldn’t North American Championships or whatever it’s called be a bigger deal than the show at Breyerfest?” Phichit asked.  “It sounds like that’s more important.”

“North American _Nationals_ ,” Yuuri corrected. “And actually, even though both are really prestigious, the Breyerfest Open Show is the most competitive model horse show in the world.  The best of the best show there.”

“Yuuri you should go and win against him!” Phichit exclaimed.  He thumped the hand that wasn’t holding his mug on the table.  “That’ll show him to call you an idiot.  Talk about the best revenge.”

“Phichit, you know I can’t do that.  There’s no way I could go to Breyerfest this year, and anyway, people don’t make the Breyerfest Open Show their first live show.  I’d get absolutely eaten alive, it would be crazy,” Yuuri sighed.  “Anyway, it’s not like what he says even matters to me that much.  He’s just some random kid on the internet trying to act all edgy.”

“That’s a bad attitude, Yuuri.  You don’t know until you give it a try,” Phichit said, setting his cup of tea down so he could cross his arms and look stern.

“Phichit’s right.  If people like your work that much there must be a reason for it.  I’m sure it would do better than you think it would.  I mean, I have no idea what I’m talking about so this probably doesn’t mean much but I think it looks amazing,” Viktor said and gave Yuuri an affectionate pat on the head.

“Well, you’re dating me so it’s pretty much your job to think I’m doing things well,” Yuuri grinned and stuck his tongue out at Viktor who gave him a playful, light swat on the arm.  “It’s moot point anyway though.  It’s not like I’m going to Breyerfest this year.”

“For starters, I’d think it was amazing even if I wasn’t dating you,” Viktor laughed.  “And anyway, I’d like to think I’m honest with you.  If I genuinely thought it wasn’t good, I’d tell you.  In a nice way of course, but I think it’s best to be truthful.”

“I know, I was just teasing,” Yuuri said and gave Viktor a peck on the cheek.

“You guys are adorable,” Phichit giggled and Yuuri looked over in time to see that he had his phone raised.

“Were you taking pictures?” Yuuri scolded.  “You know you shouldn’t do that without asking!”  He feigned annoyance even though Phichit could always tell when he was faking.  For good measure, Yuuri flung a pillow at him and Phichit caught it amid a fit of giggles.

“Send those to me, Phichit!” Viktor hollered, so Yuuri turned around and hit him with a throw pillow, too.

Naturally, that brought on an all-out pillow brawl that reduced all of them to uproarious laughter and ended with all three of them lying on the floor gasping for air.  It was nothing short of a miracle that all three mugs survived intact. 

~*~

Viktor woke up to an email from his agent and found Makkachin curled up with her head on his chest.  Reluctant to move the sleepy dog, Viktor checked the email in bed.

_Hello Viktor,_

_I have a new modeling opportunity available for you._ _It’s a bit of a haul since it’s in the United States, but that said, I think it should be very worthwhile. Keeneland Race Track in Lexington Kentucky, which is one of the top Thoroughbred horse tracks in the world, wants a new advertising campaign to drum up interest in the sport. Your look is exactly the image they’re wanting to push- handsome, sophisticated, and stylish yet still somewhat youthful. They really want to show off the social and fashionable side of horse racing. Naturally, I put you forward and they’re very interested in working with you should you accept. I know this is a bit different from what you usually do, but you shouldn’t rest on your laurels and keep doing the same old thing. The shoots will be July 9-10th. Please clear your schedule. I know you went to Japan for a change of scenery, but I can’t help but think that you’re slacking off a bit since you arrived._

_Yakov_

“Ugh.  Makkachin, why does he always find me jobs that are as far away from where I am as possible?  It’s like he _wants_ to make my life difficult,” Viktor groaned and Makkachin licked his face.  He threw the phone to the other end of his bed so he didn’t have to look at the email any more.  “Thanks, girl.  I wonder if I can get out of it?”

Viktor leaned back on his pillow and mulled over possible ways to decline without bringing on Yakov’s wrath.  He came up blank.

“Ughhhhhhh,” Viktor rolled over dramatically even though there was no one to see him carrying on except for Makkachin.  “Why would I want to go to _Kentucky_ in the middle of July when it’ll be hot as _blazes_ to do a shoot where I’ll be caked with makeup so I’ll sweat so much I’ll probably _die._ Then Yakov will be sorry.  I can see it now: ‘International Modeling Star Viktor Nikiforov Sweats to _Death_ in Kentucky.  Agent Yakov Feltsman Says it was All his Fault.’”  Makkachin whined in response.

Viktor suddenly sat bolt upright in bed.  He felt like the proverbial lightbulb in his brain had just switched on with a terrific flash.

_July._

_Kentucky._

_Kentucky_ in _July._

_Breyerfest!_

All in a scramble, Viktor found his phone in the bundle of his covers and blankets.  His fingers shook wildly as he opened his internet browser and typed “Breyerfest” into the search window.

Viktor let out such a loud whoop that Makkachin dove from the bed in a panic when he saw the dates for Breyerfest. They were from July fourteenth to the sixteenth. Just a few days after his shoot. They'd have a few days for sightseeing and then _Breyerfest._ It couldn’t have been more perfect if he’d _planned_ it. He’d already told Yuuri that the next time he needed to travel for modeling he’d bring him along, but he’d been thinking it would be France or something, not the perfect opportunity to make Yuuri’s wildest dream come true. _This is so perfect!!_ Viktor thought, squealing out loud. _He’s going to be so excited and it’ll be so much fun and he’s going to be so happy it’s going to be SO CUUUUUUTE._ _I cannot even handle how cute he’s gonna be._ _I’m gonna tell him!!_

 “Wait,” Viktor said out loud.  “This would be the best surprise _ever._   Wouldn’t it Makkachin?”  The poodle poked her head back onto the bed since her owner seemed to be mostly done flailing around with glee.  She cocked her head at him and perked up her fluffy brown ears.  Then she prodded his hand with her wet nose.  “You’re right, Makkachin.  I’m going to keep it secret from him as long as possible.  I’ll plan it all out perfectly and it will be the best thing _ever_.” 

Before Yakov could change his mind, not that he ever had before, once Yakov had an idea he tended to stick to it no matter what, Viktor emailed him back. He wasn’t sure how Yakov would feel about him turning the photoshoot into a vacation. He also wasn’t sure how Yakov would feel about him bringing a guest along since the photoshoot _was_ work. Yakov liked to say that since Viktor spent approximately ninety five percent of his life messing around, the least he could do was focus during shoots. Usually he was pretty insistent about minimizing Viktor’s distractions. A guest tagging along would absolutely count as a distraction in Yakov’s book, especially if that guest was Viktor's date. Still, if anyone could get Yakov to agree to things, it was Viktor. Yakov had been his agent for as long as he could remember and Viktor knew how to sweet talk him like he would a firm parent. Actually, Yakov pretty much _was_ his firm parent in all ways except officially.

_Hello Yakov,_

_That shoot sounds like a wonderful opportunity for me.  Thank you for arranging it!  I will absolutely take the job.  I can always count on you to find the best shoots for me to do!  By the way, Yakov, would it be possible for me to extend my stay in Kentucky until say, the following Monday?  My boyfriend has never been to the United States before so I’d like to bring him along for some sightseeing.  He really loves horses so Kentucky would be quite perfect for him._

_Best wishes~_

_Viktor_

Rather than explain the whole concept of model horses to Yakov, who most certainly would _not_ get it, Viktor decided this way was best.  _Anyway, it’s not even a lie,_ Viktor thought, _he obviously loves real horses if he has so many plastic ones._

Viktor didn’t quite want to get out of bed yet.  He was far more interested in planning out how to arrange an entire trip all the way to Kentucky for two without letting Yuuri know beforehand.  _I’ll have to tell him with enough notice that he can get his horses ready for the show.  Even if he says he wouldn’t want to do the show I_ know _he does,_ Viktor thought, _But I also want it to really be a big surprise.  Hmmmm maybe if I give him two weeks notice?  A week?_

The ping of an email in his inbox interrupted his train of thought.

His heart skittered a little when he saw that it was Yakov already replying with his usual superhuman speed.  Viktor shouldn’t have been surprised.  In all the years he’d known Yakov he didn’t think the man had ever taken more than ten minutes to reply to a call or email.  On more than one occasion Viktor had wondered if Yakov even slept, and once Viktor even _asked_ him, to which Yakov replied that with clients like Viktor, sleep was a luxury he did not have.

 _Viktor- I see you flattering me.  Do you think you can snow me like that? Still, you_ can _bring your boyfriend, but if he distracts you from your work while you’re there, I will be forced to kill both of you.  Understood?_

_Yakov_

Viktor breathed a sigh of relief.  Coming from Yakov, that was as good an answer as he could expect.  Heck, it was practically enthusiastic for him.

 _You’re the best Yakov!!_ o(^▽^)o  _I promise he won’t distract me at all!_

_< 3 Viktor_

“Oops!” Viktor gasped.  In all the excitement, he nearly forgot to text Yuuri good morning.  Yuuri hadn’t sent _him_ a good morning text yet, so that meant Viktor was the first one up.  Whoever woke up first would send the text.  They hadn’t exactly decided on doing it, Viktor had sort of just started it and Yuuri joined in on the tradition.  Viktor absolutely loved it.  It never failed to start off his morning in a nice way.

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor**

**Good morning Yuuri~ ( ˘ ³˘) <3**

Even though Viktor already decided he wasn’t going to spoil the surprise, his fingers itched to type out “YUURI GUESS WHO’S GOING TO BREYERFEST. IT’S YOU!!” He managed to restrain himself. Barely. Regardless, even if he did end up revealing the surprise earlier than planned, that was something best done in person. He wouldn’t want to miss out on Yuuri’s reaction because no doubt it would be absolutely adorable.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri <3**

**Good morning, Viktor <3  I have to get ready for work, but are you still coming over tonight?  Phichit says you should bring Makkachin.**

“Makkachin, do you want to go see Yuuri and Phichit?” Viktor asked the poodle. He knew she didn’t exactly understand what he said, though he wouldn’t be surprised if she knew Yuuri and Phichit’s names since she was _very_ smart. He still took the vigorous thumping of her tail as a resounding “yes.”

**To: Yuuri <3**

**From: Viktor**

**Of course!  And I’m sure Makkachin would love to come.  We’ll see you then~**

Yuuri replied almost right away.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Yuuri <3**

**Sounds good to me, see you then!  Have a great day, Viktor.**

Viktor responded that he hoped Yuuri would have an absolutely wonderful day, too, complete with lots of hearts of course.  He needed to start forming a plan now, and while Yuuri was at the library was a perfect time to do it.  The first person he needed to have on his team was undoubtedly Phichit.  Granted, Viktor also figured that involving Phichit was a little bit of a risk.  Phichit didn’t really seem like he would be the best at keeping secrets, but at the same time, he’d be a crucial player in getting Yuuri ready for such a huge trip without letting him know that he was going. 

Viktor got up and made coffee while he waited until he felt sure that Yuuri had already left for work.  If he rang Phichit while Yuuri was still home, it would definitely be pretty obvious that Viktor was up to something, especially since subtlety wasn’t exactly Phichit’s strong suit.  By the time he fed Makkachin and brought her outside, Viktor didn’t think he could wait any longer.

Phichit picked up on the first ring.

“Viktor?  What’s up?”

“Hi Phichit.  Is Yuuri home?” Viktor asked, sitting on his couch and resting his feet on the coffee table.

“No, he already left for work.  Why, are you looking for him?” Phichit sounded a little confused.  Viktor didn’t blame him.  While he and Phichit were definitely friends by now, they weren’t really the type of friends who just called each other up randomly. 

“No, I’m looking for you actually.  I have a really great surprise for Yuuri, and I need your help to set it up.  But you _need_ to keep it a secret okay?  It’s a really, really good surprise,” Viktor explained.

“Ooooooooo fun!” Phichit gasped.  “I’ll help.  And I’ll keep it really secret.  I know what you’re probably thinking, but I’m better at keeping secrets than you must think I am.  Is it like a surprise party?” Phichit already sounded completely invested in the plot but he didn’t even know what it was yet.

“Better.  I’m taking him to Breyerfest,” Viktor said, a little smug because he knew it was a killer plan.

“ _No way!_ ” Phichit shrieked.  He was so loud that Viktor needed to pull his phone away from his head to avoid shattering his ear drum.  “Viktor, he’s absolutely gonna flip.  You better tell him when I’m there ‘cause you can bet that I wanna take a video of that.”

“That can be arranged,” Viktor grinned, pleased that he’d found a willing conspirator in Phichit.  “Provided you send me the video, that is.”

“What made you decide to do it?” Phichit asked.  “Like, obviously you’re doing it to make Yuuri happy, but like, this is a little out of the blue you know.”

“I got booked for a photoshoot in Kentucky a few days before the event starts.  It’s just so perfect, how could I not?”  Viktor said.  “When the universe decides to do something so serendipitous, who am I to ignore it?”

Phichit whistled appreciatively.  “Wow, talk about a coincidence.  So where do I come in?”

“Well, the first thing I probably need is his friend Leo’s number.  Where neither of us really know what we’re doing here, I think having Leo helping would be quite useful, no?” Viktor asked, drumming his fingers on the table as he thought the idea over. “I’m sure I’ll need your help with other things, too, but for now I think talking to Leo should be the first goal.”

“Oh wow, good idea!  Yeah, I can send you his number.  I actually have it already because usually he helps me out finding Yuuri’s Christmas and Birthday presents because he knows what horses Yuuri’s looking for,” Phichit told Viktor.  “You know, Viktor.  This is like his biggest dream so thank you for doing this for him.  I mean, wow.  This is going to mean so much to him.”

“Honestly, Yuuri’s such a wonderful guy he deserves this,” Viktor said, heart fluttering when he thought over Phichit’s words.  “I’m just glad that I can make it happen for him.”

“I’m just glad you two found each other.  You make him really happy.  He’s my best friend and I just love seeing him like this, you know?” Phichit said, and Viktor could hear the smile in his words.

“He makes me really happy, too,” Viktor smiled.  “Thanks for helping me, Phichit.”

“No worries, Viktor.  Anything for Yuuri.  I have class soon, so I gotta dash.  I’ll send you Leo’s number before I go, yeah?”  

“Thanks again, Phichit.  Have a good class,” Viktor said.

“Right-o, catch ya later!”

**To: Viktor**

**From: Phichit**

**I just sent Leo’s contact info!  Keep me in the loop~  And don’t you worry, my lips are sealed!  (^_** **－** **)** **－** **☆**

**To: Phichit**

**From: Viktor**

**You’re the best, Phichit!**

Viktor copied and pasted Leo’s number into his phone and tried to think of the best way to start the text.  He had talked to Leo before when he’d been around when Yuuri was Skyping him, but it was a little different than just texting Phichit.  Leo was still in the “acquaintance” category for him rather than being a friend yet, but he there was nothing to be done for it.  Outside of Yuuri himself, Leo was the only person Viktor had ever met who would know enough about Breyerfest to help out.  Anyway, Viktor figured Leo would be eager to chip in with some advice since he’d finally be able to meet Yuuri in person after they’d been online friends for years.

**To: Leo**

**From: Viktor**

**Hello, Leo.  I’m Yuuri’s boyfriend Viktor.  We’ve met over Skype a few times.  I got your number from Phichit.  I’m planning a big surprise for Yuuri and I could really use your help.**

Leo responded much faster than Viktor expected him to.  Then again, he remembered Yuuri saying that Leo had a fairly bizarre sleep schedule to he wasn’t too shocked.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Leo**

**Hi Viktor!  Yeah, I remember you from the Skype calls.  I’d be happy to help.  Do you need help buying a horse for him?**

Viktor smiled as he tapped out a reply.  It was lucky that Yuuri had so many helpful friends, otherwise his job would have been a lot harder.  _I guess it just goes to show how much everyone cares about Yuuri,_ Viktor thought.

**To: Leo**

**From: Viktor**

**Even better actually, I’m taking him to Breyerfest this year as a surprise so I need some help planning it since I don’t know anything about it.  I’ll give him enough notice that he can get his horses ready for the show, but I want to wait as long as I can to reveal it so it has to be a secret.**

Viktor explained.  He didn’t know Leo well, so he could only hope that Leo would be good at keeping secrets.  Leo _seemed_ like he’d be good at it, but Viktor couldn’t be sure.

**To: Viktor**

**From: Leo**

**Wow!!  So exciting!  Of course I’ll help you plan it.  This is really great, Viktor.  I need to go to bed now because it’s pretty late here, but how about we Skype tomorrow?  Your morning time, my night time, and we can talk it out?  There’s a LOT of info so it would take forever to type it all out.  Sound good?**

**To: Leo**

**From: Viktor**

**Sounds perfect to me!  Talk to you then.  Thanks, Leo!**

Within moments, Leo texted over his Skype handle and Viktor replied with his.  Things were really coming together, even faster than Viktor imagined they would.  Between Phichit and Leo, everything was sure to go off without a hitch. 

Viktor was still bursting to tell someone his surprise.  Keeping it secret from Yuuri would be harder than he imagined it would be.  He knew the big reveal would make it all worthwhile, but it was hard to resist the temptation regardless.  _Planning it will be really fun, but I’m just going to be dying to tell Yuuri the whole time!  I know, I’ll tell Chris!_

He called Chris on Facetime to help suppress the urge to freak out and call Yuuri and ruin the whole thing.

“Hello, Vitya.  What’s up?  I was actually about to call you before I went to sleep but you beat me to it,” Chris grinned.  He looked sleepy with his hair all tousled and he was already in bed with his cat curled up against his shoulder.

“Hi Chris!  I was just excited about something and I _had_ to tell someone.  I’m taking Yuuri to this big model horse convention festival thing in Kentucky this July.  And it’s his _biggest dream_ and I’m keeping it a secret from him so it’ll be a surprise but it’s _so hard_ to resist telling him you know,” Viktor rambled.  “He’s going to be _sooooo-_ ”

“Hang on, hang on!  Slow down there for a second Viktor.  Kentucky in July?” Chris interrupted.

“Yeah, it’s called Breyerfest and-”

“ _When_ in July?”

“It’s the fourteenth to the sixteenth.  I got booked for a shoot at some racetrack earlier in the week so it really is perfect you kn-”

“Holy _shit_!  Viktor!” Chris’ green eyes lit up.  “At Keeneland?!”

“Yeah, I think so?  How did you know?” Viktor asked, cocking his head to the side so his bangs fell over his eye.

“ _Because I’m booked for the same exact shoot!_ ”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked the chapter! Fun fact, my friend came over to my house so we could work on our theses but I wrote this chapter instead XD she had no idea until I told her. To be fair, I am ahead of schedule on my thesis so it's all good lol. I'm writing it on Chaucer's Dream Vision Poetry which makes my nerdy little Middle English loving English Major soul cry with glee. The thesis (along with my other end of semester work, including a creative writing project and a paper on the ethics of equine cloning among other things) was the main reason this chapter was so delayed. But now I'm on winter break! So even though I still have to work on my thesis, I have much more time for the next month to work on this!
> 
> As usual, please be sure to tell me what you think! I appreciate all comments so much (they seriously make my day and it makes me smile like crazy when I read them). It means lot knowing that people took time out of their day not only to read my story but to comment! Constructive criticism is also more than welcome!! You can reach me on here via the comments, on Tumblr at @haircut-named-arthur and on Twitter @pennylanewrites . If you want to see my model horse collection, that's on Instagram @pennylanestables .
> 
> Thank you all SO SO SO for being the best ever and being so supportive about the big delay for this chapter. Y'all are seriously the best readers ever and I appreciate all of you so much <3
> 
> Until next time, my friends!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! In case you didn't pick up on it from the chapter itself, I'm a model horse collector myself so the details come from experience haha. For example the "model hijab" tag actually does come up directly before the "model horse" tag when you search on Instagram.  
> Anyyyway, please please make sure to tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is most welcome (I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong), so don't be afraid of hurting my feelings! You can reach me through the comments on here, or via tagging me or through my ask box on Tumblr, which can be found at http://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/  
> ALSO, if any of you also happen to be reading my ongoing Yowamusi Pedal T2 fic, that has not been abandoned in favor of this, so no worries! The last few chapters of that will continue to go up on schedule.  
> Also I love Phichit so much. That is all.  
> See you all next time~


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